A New Path at Life
by ForPain
Summary: Konan had enough of Nagato's corrupted image as Pain. She decides to open his eyes and reflect him upon his mistake. Thanks to his Angel's strong love towards him, Nagato's eyes are finally opened, now both of them go forth on a new path towards true peace. But as they move forward, they will face consequences of their past, meet new comrades and enemies, and strengthen their love.
1. A Change of Heart, Nagato's Resolve!

**Chapter 1- Change of Heat- Nagato's Resolve!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any Naruto Shippuden.**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Past Speech"_

**FINALLY! **THE TIME HAD FINALLY COME! TODAY, THE FIRST CHAPTER OF **"A New Path at Life" **HAD BEEN UPLOADED, AND WITH IT BEGINS THE NEW, FIRST FIXER FIC IN ALL OF THE PAIN/NAGATO CATEGORY!

You are free to read this first chapter, and I will see you again at the bottom of this chapter, where I will tell you everything you need to know.

So…without any further speech, and further tempting which may cause frustration, enjoy **Chapter 1- Change of Heart- Nagato's Resolve!**

**Warning: This chapter may contain heavily emotional content, that may make it embarrassing and awkward for the serious readers who are looking for plot. It will include heavily-emotional reactions of certain characters, but those reactions will be explained in later chapters to fill in gaps of logic.**

* * *

It was rainy day in Amegakure…it was always a rainy day at Amegakure, rain, rain, rain and more rain, the dark-grey clouds forcefully pushing the sun away, subduing her and ruling over the skies of the industrial and poor town of Amegakure.

Amegakure wasn't quite the village one can claim to be 'peaceful'; it was a rainy, cold, and gloomy village that the only music played are the taps of the rain on the rooftops. Aside from the facts that it's an industrial village, it was located in a completely unfertilized country (even though it's the rainiest place in the world).

On the highest western tower in Ame, which would resemble the sewer system's headquarters that had pipes throughout the village, one could claim that is where god lives, and others would just treat it as rumors.

Amegakure's villagers believed in god- the leader of Akatsuki- Nagato, and in his Angel- Konan. No one had ever seen Pain, Nagato's 'second' body in person, they have all heard rumors of him and seen Konan appearing before them at best, so over the time people grew to doubt his existence, just like a real belief in god.

Konan and Nagato weren't like the other Akatsuki members who were just joining the organization for their own, crazy reasons. They have passed the trauma of a lifetime- the loss of family, and loss of their friend. When they were young, their parents were killed; they were both left to fend for themselves in the cruel world.

By the hand of fate, the three were united- a completely random trio found each other in a crossroad rainy country and turned into a family upon meeting each other. They have survived together from hilarious pranks to gain food to crying together from hunger and cold. They had grown up and eventually founded Akatsuki to bring peace to the world. But they were naïve and were tricked. As a result, one of them sacrificed his life and killed himself so the other two could continue living. But the one who had sacrificed himself never expected from one of the two to turn emotionless because of the trauma, and as a result, for the youngest, and most kind member of the trio to be left all alone with no love or attention.

Konan didn't want to, she didn't want to become so emotionless like Nagato did and to let Yahiko's death get the best of her, no, she didn't. She didn't want to become a shell filled with no emotions, no love, because the one thing she knew is that if Yahiko was hear, he wouldn't want her or Nagato to cry over his death.

Konan just wished Nagato would turn back to the Nagato she loved, so she will be able to get out of that living hell, of that nightmare, but she knew it can't happen. Nagato had turned so emotionless and was blinded with darkness so much that he hadn't even considered her feelings towards him, let alone gave her any kind of attention.

She decided to fulfill his requests and follow him wholeheartedly, for the hope that one day, perhaps one single day, he will look at her with a curious expression, his sad eyes melting down through her, filled with emotions, and all at once, he will open his mouth and say-

"Konan, my Angel, are you sad?"

Unfortunately for her, it never happened.

Konan had obeyed Pain's bidding and followed through each one of his requests without questioning, without hesitating, no matter how hard it was. She never once got the courage to tell him that she missed her old, warm, sensitive Nagato.

And what does Nagato do to reward her for all she had done to him? Nothing! Not a single smile, not a single hug, let alone a single kiss, not even a single "thank you"…no, he was too emotionless for that, what only broke Konan down even more.

He treated her as nothing; he referred to her as nothing. He had forgotten who she once was to him, he had forgotten she was the one to save him, he had forgotten she was his childhood friend who would cry with him when they were both cold and hungry while Yahiko went out to search for food. He had forgotten _her_.

It was always "silence Konan", and "keep it down, I am concentrating, I do not have time to be distracted by anything", and what annoyed the most was his "god" speeches, treating himself like he is immortal…but for her, he was not a mortal as he described…not even close to a mortal being.

She received no love, no attention, and not even comfort from her emotional-deadened partner, who once used to be her childhood friend, her ambition for peace, and her hope.

She felt ashamed, she felt so ashamed to cry infront of him, she felt ashamed to beg for his shoulder, to show weakness, to show any kind of emotions whatsoever- her Nagato had treated emotions as shows of weakness…as 'inferior' and 'unnecessary', and most of all- as 'a burden'. Showing any kind of emotions infront of him will only anger him and disgust him, even if she were to crumble down and pour down her heart, the warm shoulder of her Nagato will never be there to comfort her tears.

Nagato was always hidden under the emotionless, iron-covered shell of 'Pain', and alias he chose to himself, and since that horrible name, her Nagato was taken away from her, as if that name was imprisoning Nagato in a steel-made cage, not letting him out for even the briefest second.

The lack of emotional treatment from Nagato had forced Konan to slowly lock up all of her emotions, to stop that increasing emotional toll on her from interrupting with her duties- there was so much that needed to be done, treating Nagato, sorting out the files about latest covert missions by the Akatsuki, often patrolling through the village…her emotions had to be locked up, if not, at some point they would've digested her heart…but unlike her emotionless comrade, Konan's heart was never built to restrain her emotions, no heart was.

There were those deep hours of the nights, when Konan would just snap her amber eyes open, awaking from yet another terrifying nightmare, cold sweat running through her expression, panting, shivering from the icy air around her. She would move away the bed sheet from her body, as thin as it was, not helping to fight off the cold at all.

She would then exit their bedroom, but not before giving a single glance at the one who was sleeping right next to her with tear-filled, amber eyes, realizing how much everything had changed. She would then go far, as far as she could go in the freezing rain, a place where no one could hear her "shameful" display of weakness, especially not Nagato.

She would collapse from stress and would just sit and cry, cry as loud as she could, shivering from the freezing rain as her tears began mixing with the raindrops, tapping on the stoned floor from her cheeks.

She was all alone in this world. If Kami really existed, and she knew for sure it wasn't her Nagato, how could he be so cruel? How could he take away her only love, her only source of happiness remained, the only one left for her in this world- her Nagato, and just easily replace him with an emotionless creature that doesn't even bother to notice how sad she had become?

Her life was just one, big, endless nightmare, which once used to be a beautiful, endless dream.

When she had finished pouring down her delicate, fragile heart in the night sky, she would get up and take the journey back to their bedroom on wings of paper. Once she had returned, only ten minutes had passed, and so she would rest her head on the uncomfortable pillow, covering herself with the bed sheets, which were probably not warm enough to protect her from the cold, they were never enough…

And resume the horrible nightmare she woke up from.

And in the next day, no one would know, no one would notice, no one would even come close to finding out, that in a small alley behind the highest tower in Amegakure, mixed with the rain of last night, were the tears of a fallen Angel.

And so a new day will arise.

Waking up from yet another terrifying nightmare by the sound of the endless rain, tapping outside, to the feeling of the cold air filling the room, to the sight of the messed bed sheets next to her motioning her past love had already woken up and brought himself out of the room, not wanting to bother himself with waking her up, nor even caring.

She would then get out of the bed and dress up, putting up fake makeup to hide her exhaustion and tiredness from the last night, to hide her sorrow, her despair, her hatred, to hide everything from Nagato, not wanting to bother him, not even wanting to think that he might won't even care if she showed up with the sadness and sorrow of last night, not caring what she's going through.

She would exit the bedroom and walk tiredly through the hallways of the tower, struggling not to fall from all the exhaustion as she headed towards the top of the tower, towards her Nagato, to be greeted like always by nothing, only by his emotionless look, which would remind her how warm he used to be. She would mentally beg for him to say "good morning", just once, was it too much? Apparently it was, because she was only greeted by that emotionless look, and had to settle for it, thinking that it was better than nothing.

She would then receive orders, emotionless commands over commands, requests and duties from Nagato, with an emotionless tone, a careless, cold tone. If she was able to shut her ears just so this tone wouldn't tear her apart she would've, but she couldn't bring herself, it would've been rude.

She would then say- "yes, Nagato." with all of the respect she could stiff into her voice, just so he will know that she will follow him everywhere, that she will always be by his side…but he doesn't reply, he doesn't answer, he doesn't even both to show that he noticed her answer, let alone say a "thank you"…and so she will exit the room and walk through the hallways, her heart being shattered once more, only to slowly start repairing himself for the rest of the day.

She will start take care of his commands and requests, standing on her poor, fragile legs all day and tiring herself to the point where her body needs to hold onto the nearby wall in order to continue standing- filling and signing his documents for funding various actions of Akatsuki, cleaning the entire tower from inside out, cooking meals once her Nagato became hungry, and take care of everything that he didn't have the time to bother himself with.

And so, they day would pass slowly, each hour feeling like forever, the sound of the endless rain only making it worse on Konan. She will be tired by that point and would want to take a rest. All of Nagato's requests were taken care of by her with full attention and devotion, every single one them.

She will begin to struggle herself through the pipe-filled hallways, her hands clinging to the wall to support the weight for her body, her legs exhausted and weak at that point. She will begin searcher for her emotionless partner, the one who she loved the most no matter how much he ignored her, to tell him that she took care of every single request completely, and even hope that it would trigger even the most silent "thank you" from him, the best reward she can get for her work, a reward that she would appreciate so much.

She would then spot him, in the dead, pierced corpse of her beloved Yahiko, the corpse which was never laid to rest so it could be used as Nagato's second body, as he sat on that same ugly, golden-colored statue, watching over the gloomy, industrial village.

She hated it- she hated the fact that those piles of hideous, pipe-filled buildings are getting more attention than her from her beloved Nagato, a _thing_! A lifeless object receiving more attention than her from him!

Like always, once she had made sure to make her presence known to him, she would expect him to look over his shoulder at her, to be happy to see her after all that entire day…she would expect him to motion her to come and sit next to him, to tell him what's wrong with her, she would expect him to say "thank you" for the unstopped work she had been doing, she would expect him to urge her to take a rest, to show how much he worried for her, to show that he wanted her to rest her stressed, sore, knotted muscles.

She would expect the unexpected.

He did not glance at her, not even a single peek to confirm it was her. He knew too-well it would be her. He didn't ask or say anything, no hand movements, as if he was frozen from the inside. He would just sit there, without moving, the rain washing his hair, his Rinnegan eyes locked on the view of the village…only the village, not her.

And the day would continue passing slowly, and she would just stare at him from inside the building, her heart longing for the time he would turn around and lock his eyes with her, making her delicate body writhe and freeze under his eyes, to feel like she had made herself useful, but it will not happen.

When Pain finally turns around, deciding that it's enough for today, that he had stared at that dead collection of bad architecture that he called a village, Konan could see his emotionless face again, the face that would remind her of her now-emotionless Nagato, of her nightmare. His eyes wouldn't be locked with hers, with the amber eyes she wants so much for him to look at. She would only see death and emotionlessness in his eyes, the only two things she doesn't want to see…she wanted to see emotions storming through his eyes, she want more than anything to see love towards her in his eyes…she always wanted him to love her, to give her at least a little bit from the attention he gives to that dead village.

He would begin walking slowly across the stoned bridge towards the entrance to the tower, towards her direction, every single step he took bringing him closer to her, and Konan could be feeling her heart beating faster, louder, as if she could almost hear it. She would be happy to know that he's walking towards her. She would even expect him to say _something _while he walks towards her…but when he had reached so close, making her heart nearly stop from anticipation, he would just bypass her slowly, not even glancing at her, not even a single peek. It would be going in slow motion, breaking Konan's heart into pieces very often when he passed her and continued deeper into the darkness of the tower.

When he was finally out of sight, and Konan's heartbeats would return to normal, the Angel would drop to her knees and slam both of her fists at the stoned floor with a weak wail of despair and sorrow. When she saw it hasn't made her calm, she would do it again, and again, and again and again and again, to take out all the anger, all of that stabbing and freezing despair and sorrow. At some point she would just shatter a small part of the floor…together with her hand very often, her poor, weak hands which were working all day.

She would hold her hands with each other tightly, grinding her teeth from the pain, her body trembling from the cold, and then, without anything left to do, she would just hold her head in both of her hands, the rain tapping on her body, washing her, and would just cry.

Cry on how she had gotten completely no love, affection, let alone attention from her emotionally-deadened partner, her Nagato, her love.

The night would then drop over the industrial village painting the sky with deep blue color, no stars visible in the sky because of the clouds, just like her body, which would drop on the mat of their bed, not able to withstand the exhaustion and sadness which were forced onto her that day, like every day.

Nagato's voice would then call her, making the Angel's heart ache and arch as if it wants to get out from her chest in happiness. He was standing outside the bedroom, embed to his mechanical walker, an emotionless, dark expression plastered on his face. He wants to go to sleep as well, but will have difficulty to stand on his own, let alone walk since his legs were burned by explosive tags and cannot support whichever little weight his body had, combined with the weight of those horrible chakra rods impaled to his back, a horrible remain of his anger and pain. would then call for her help, standing outside of the room, embed to his mechanical walker. What would sadden her more than most would be the tone of the question, always hearing that it does not resemble the tone of a question, but a command.

"Konan, come here and help me."

Hearing those words, realizing her emotionally-deadened Nagato needs her, Konan would barely lift herself off the mat as she would struggle herself towards the entrance to the bedroom, towards him, half-awake. She would help him get out of that horrible machine and would wrap his thin arm around her weak shoulders, the only physical contact she could have with him, which would be enough of a reward to end this horrible nightmare. She would begin helping him walk towards the bed, every step she made with him making her heart beat in happiness, a mental smile plastered on her soul as she would help him rest his body on the mat.

Having ended the physical contact with him for the day, Konan would be dropped from cloud nine right back into the hard reality as she would walk to her side of the bed and drop exhaustingly on the soft mat, only to receive a "keep it down" hiss from her Nagato, which would only make the crumbled Angel even sadder.

He will not say anything else or bother himself with her, he would just stare blankly at the wall of the bedroom, their bodies covered with a single bed sheet, backs turned against each other, not facing each other, no, like if they will ever..

After having a good amount of shivers sent through her body from the coldness of the room, Konan would then assume her sleeping position- resting on the side of her body with the side of her head resting on the soft pillow and both of her arms folded infront of her, one of her hand resting on the pillow while the other one would just rest on the mat.

She will then close her amber eyes, a few tears rolling down her cheeks as the dark melody of the rain wouldn't leave her ears, and would just fade away from shivering into her dreams…into her cold, endless nightmares.

And that is how each day was for the poor Angel. That is what she had to go through every single day from the moment 'Pain' emerged from the endless abyss of sadness, despair and sorrow…

Eight years ago.

* * *

It was currently a gloomy, sad morning in Amegakure, the clock pointing the exact hour since the skies always looked the same- the warm, shining sun hidden behind grey, dark clouds, blocking its heat, its warmth. There was no difference between day and night except from the temperature, which was around fifteen Celsius at day and could be dropped in extreme conditions to below zero at night.

Pain was currently sitting on that same, ugly statue, which was connected to Amegakure's highest tower by a large, stoned bridge, his eyes locked with the village, quietly watching at Amegakure, gazing emotionlessly at the industrial village.

The endless, icy rain was tapping endlessly on his orange hair, petting his scalp as it washed away to his face and caressed his emotionally-dead expression.

Konan was standing behind him…way behind him, back inside the tower, the stoned ceiling providing her a shelter. She did not want to go out to that cold, freezing rain; it symbolized so many negative emotions, so many tragedies. She was rather amazed on how Pain could just sit in that rain, in that cold, on that pathetic, 'artistic' statue and watch over that horrible, industrial village.

She always hated that rain, since she was born. It reminded her about so many past tragedies. She had grown to detest it, especially after Yahiko died, not to mention after Nagato became nothing but an emotionless shell. The rain would always smack reality in her face, shattering her fragile hopes, reminding her of her miserable life, of those hours in the nights in which she would crumble and cry…it would remind her of her deadened love, of her Nagato.

She just gazed at Pain's back deeply, amazed at how he was able to keep that level of concentration for so long, without speaking, without even glancing away from that horrible view, without even looking back at her, the endless rain dropping all over his body, in that cold weather…to just sit there and watch that gloomy village all day long!

She wants to confess, to tell him how unhappy she is, how ruined and devastated she has become thanks to his cold heart! She wants to voice her opinions, to tell him what she thinks about his ways to get 'peace' and 'justice', which are so wrong and twisted. She wants to tell him how she misses his warm touch, those comforting, tight hugs, how she misses his handsome smile back when they were young, when it was still the three of them, and the world seemed to be such a wonderful place to live in.

None of those things were left, not a single one, they were torn apart from her life, together with her Nagato, and were all locked up ruthlessly in that unbreakable cage, together with her warm Nagato, which has become to be the person who she was looking at, that twisted being.

But how will she? How can she let herself? How can she let herself confess so heavily right now? After all those years she kept her voice silent, after all those years in which she showed no protest of his actions, how can she tell him _now _that she thinks his ways are so wrong? How can she tell him that she wants him back, and yet think that it will all go smoothly? He is so, so stubborn, it is not the first time she thinks about pouring down her heart infront of him, to confess like that, to tell him what she feels…but looking at him like that, she couldn't help but see that there is nothing left of her Nagato, that her voice will go on unheard by that self-proclaimed god known as 'Pain'.

Her trail of thoughts was suddenly cut off, her eyes slightly widening when Pain perked up and looked at her from over his shoulder, freezing her in her tracks, shock filling her body. He actually _looked _at her, her Nagato _looked _at her. He actually lost interest in looking at that horrible village and turned his eyes to her instead, his emotionless eyes…those horrible, dead eyes, which are now the best she can get. "Konan…" He started emotionlessly, his voice deep, dead of any warmth, the rain caressing his face as a few raindrops clung ferociously to his various piercings.

"Something is on your mind…it was like that for rather some time. Is something bothering you? Is it something I should know?"

Konan just stood there, making sure that Pain will not notice the drastic change in her expression, the dropped jaw, the shocked, widened eyes, it has been so long since she was _this _surprised. Did she hear it right? Did her Nagato possibly show the slightest concern to her being? Is it possible that finally, after eight, long years, his shell is finally falling apart?

She knew one thing- she had learned to live that routine since six years ago, when the new, dead Akatsuki was formed to life. She spent _years _standing in that same spot, watching the same man, that emotionless leader of the Akatsuki…and him, turning his look to her, actually taking interest in _her _instead of that village…this was a first, it never happened before.

The Angel just looked away instantly, despair filling her eyes, saddened. No, she cannot do it, it wasn't true that he's taking interest to her well-being. Her performance during her duties must've gone down enough to frustrate and irritate him, and he was only worried that it will cause disturbances in the flow of the organization.

It was all professional.

But the Angel knew, she couldn't help but knowing that deep inside, under all of that emotionless iron, that unbreakable barrier surrounding his heart, he had always worried for her happiness, for her safety. Even when in the middle of a battle, those rare occasions when they were engaged by enemies together, his attention would've always been divided on her more than anything.

When there are those moments, when she needs something so much that she finally gets the immense amount of courage to actually _request _it from him, her Nagato is the one making sure that it gets to her in a moment's notice.

But right now, since forever, she wants one thing more than anything, something that she doubts her Nagato would have enough influence and power to be able to retrieve her desired item- she wants her old love back, she wants her Nagato.

But maybe…maybe there is still a chance, even the slightest bit of a chance that her Nagato might be able to see and hear her right now, that maybe all that he needs is motivation, a mental push from her to burst free of that presumably-crumbling cage.

Maybe she would actually be able to…bring him back.

She had decided, if there is the slightest bit of a chance to bring him back, if there is that slightest bit of a chance to end this endless nightmare called 'reality'…then she would risk everything, even put her own life on the line.

"Y-Yes…" Konan finally answered, nervously, her head slightly lowered, making sure that her voice was blunt enough to prevent Pain from suspecting the presence of leaking emotions. "W-Where is Nagato?"

Pain raised his eyebrow at Konan's question, suspicious. She never asked for his location, she always knew every single place he would be in every single minute, it was something she developed throughout those years. "I am at the top floor, three floors above us currently." He answered calmly, the same, deep, emotionless tone as before. She was, after all, a mortal being, she can make her mistakes.

"N-No, that's not what I meant…" Konan countered weakly, her words a mutter, her hands clenching into weak fists, trying to comprehend and predict what will come after her second question. Her heart was beating erratically, her stomach clenching. "Where is _Nagato_?"

Pain's expression was genuinely confused, plastering suspicion on his face. Konan frowned, confusion is not an emotion, no, it wasn't enough, she needs more. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, confused at Konan's question, not understanding what she was referring to.

Konan knew that this is not the time to be philosophical.

The Angel closed her amber eyes, taking a deep breath, gathering every single bit of courage she managed to bring up throughout those horrible years, thinking about that endless nightmare which can now come to an end, here, now. She then opened her eyes, surprising Pain when her expression turned into a motivated glare…one of the first emotions she showed infront of him- anger, mixed with desperation.

"Nagato, _my _Nagato!" She said loudly, slight anger in her voice, perking up Pain heavily, his brain realizing what she was referring to, the bomb dropped on him confusing him for only the split second. The Angel was determined than ever, downright _exhausted _f that pathetic façade which is called 'Pain' that Nagato had adopted. She can use his confusion and shock to her advantage, time to put it all on the line!

"Where is my Nagato? The Nagato who turned into _you_! The Nagato who could love, who could cry, who could laugh…where is he?"

Konan could hear her own heartbeats at this point, her body trembling slightly from anticipation and fear, knowing that this is the moment in which she will decide her fate, the moment which will bring a conclusion to those eight, horrible years. She will find out if it's truly possible to save her Nagato from the clutches of Pain, to bring him back from the darkness.

Her heart suddenly ached and clenched as Pain narrowed his ringed eyes, the pieces of confusion finally coming in together, the Rinnegan slightly angered. Irritated with her question, Pain turned around slowly, turning his back to Konan as he continued overlooking Amegakure, the city he has taken over and raised to become one of the most guarded and strict villages, by killing Hanzo and avenging Yahiko's death.

Her voice went unheard, and as the rain continued pouring down, Konan could now feel the same feelings of despair taking over her heart, losing her motivation, losing her desire to continue this conversation. But she can't step down, she won't, her Nagato would never forgive her. "That Nagato is no more…he was replaced by Pain." The Rinnegan wielder suddenly answered, his voice cold and emotionless, not even the slightest pang of guilt and regret in his voice, only making the edge in Konan's heart deeper.

"Well, I am not satisfied with you, Pain…" Konan muttered, looking on the floor slightly before returning her amber eyes to look at his back, knowing that he could see her determined expression even without looking at her physically, a result of living with her for so long. "I want my Nagato back!"

Pain growled in frustration at Konan's words, but was not surprised at them nevertheless. He had known that this day would come eventually, the day in which Konan won't be able to take him anymore and start this conversation. "I have already told you many times, Konan…" Pain began his voice deep, emotionless even more than before, but slightly filled with frustration. He knew that he already told her how it's going to be the moment he formed the new Akatsuki, after Yahiko's death. "Once I bring forth pain and create peace upon this cursed shinobi world…that Nagato may return. But for now…he is no more! The hatred of this shinobi world took him away and the only thing which will be able to get him back is peace…my peace."

"Don't you…realize?" Konan asked weakly, enraged. She felt like she was getting more and more desperate to bring her Nagato back, to open his eyes, with each passing heartbeat, with each passing second. She was angered- how can her Nagato possible think that his method to acquire peace will actually work? "Don't you realize that no real peace can be brought from such a horrible method? It will only be an illusion, a fake!"

It was the first time that Pain, the leader of the Akatsuki, was caught off guard, causing his eyes to harden and turn colder, slight anger filling his expression. He didn't take kindly to people who thought that they knew what was best for the world, who lectured him about his ideals, who told him that his ways to get peace are wrong…every single Jinchuriki he sealed away lectured him about his 'twisted' ideals when he told them of his plans…but to receive that lecture from his own _Angel_? He never really saw it coming, and never knew how to confront with such a comment, mainly because it came from the mouth of the only one who was always there, by his side. "My ways will bring about _true _peace!" The Rinnegan wielder protested, slight anger and shock filling his voice, in an amount that Konan was actually able to sense them, shocking her completely.

Now? _Now _he's showing his emotions towards her? Only now when she's mocking his twisted ways for peace?

"I have already told you…the Bijuu weapon will bring pain and loss upon the world, and force the people to fear, to cower…upon that feeling of loss, people will know what _true _pain is! That pain will force the people to change and grow!"

Konan's expression hardened into a glare, a near snarl, angered at Pain's words. "Change and grow into what?" She raged, awestruck and amazed by Pain's logic behind his ideals, thinking that forcing pain upon the world will make it a better place. "Into more people like you? Who would want to force their own pain on others? Who would chase and do anything to realize their revenge? Who would…lock every single emotion they have inside of them, and severe whichever ties they have to do so?"

Pain's eyes hardened at Konan's words, rage now clearly visible on his face, thinking this entire argument to be futile. It angered him that Konan, his most trusted follower, turned out to be one of the beings who resist his ways.

Konan felt enraged, enraged that the only emotion that this Pain could reveal to her eyes was only anger. Why not love? Why not happiness? Why must he show her the exact opposite emotions?

"You had better be careful with what you are saying, Konan…" Pain growled in frustration, getting too angered at her nerve to talk to him like that, to mock him and the ways he embraced. He would not agree to such things, not even by his own Angel.

Konan perked up at Pain's reaction, her amber eyes widening in awe as the realization struck her down. She had forgotten that she is not talking to her Nagato, that the one facing her is nothing but an emotionless beast who only see her as a mere tool…she's facing a merciless heart of steel, which will not go down so easily, especially not infront of lectures and enraged claims. Her attitude isn't working…it's only making it worse. Perhaps she needs to act on a different scale…something which will rather trigger guilt and remorse inside that emotionless leader's heart, if there is such a thing.

"It's not too late to turn back…" Konan pleaded kindly as she walked towards the stoned bridge, a soft, begging smile on her face. She slowly stoop outside of the building and into the icy, cold rain, letting the raindrops wash her hair, wash her fake eye makeup, the makeup she has been putting for so long in order to hide her tiredness and devastation. She can, and she _will _do _anything _in order to have her Nagato back, she will beg for his emotions if she must, she will show him that she's still there for him, she will show her emotions to him as much as required…after all, there is no humiliation nor weakness in showing emotions. "It's not too late, there's still time to turn back! You can still stop! Please…give me back the Nagato I love…I will help you change everything…I'm here for my Nagato…then please…please!"

Pain was silent for a few seconds, trying to digest his Angel's words, trying his best to not show any kind of emotion to her, no, he had no emotions! He was Pain! Then…what is that strange feeling in his chest? What are those pangs which make his body trembling slightly?

The Rinnegan wielder closed his eyes, this is the power of the old, warm Nagato, trying to break free…he cannot allow it. Everything he had accomplished, how close he has become to his ideal dream of forcing peace on the world…he cannot let it all fall apart, he cannot agree to comply. "This…cursed shinobi world had brought this upon itself…" He muttered emotionlessly, unable to prevent the minor guilt and sadness in his voice from leaking, trying to deny his urges, his thoughts. "I cannot let it all fall apart…this is the only peace we can afford now…this is the only peace the world can afford now…as Kami, this is the only peace I can bring upon the world…Konan…you must understand that! You know that!"

Konan's face hardened into a cold glare at Pain's words, unable to treat that monster before her like she plans to treat her Nagato, unable to show him the warm, delicate side of her, a side only her Nagato is allowed to see. Here is another one of his "Kami" excuses for him to deny himself and justify his ways…what does he get from considering himself the god of this world? He _can't _be god, no one who began from a mortal being can become god, god is the epitome of hope and belief, revealing himself when humanity itself is at stake, helping those in need, making the poor rich, making the starved full…the one who is standing infront of her cannot possibly become close to the _ankle _of god.

The realization struck Konan again, this is now or never, she is the only one who is able to open her Nagato's eyes and bring him back from the abyss, she is the only one who can make him realize the errors in his ways. This is her last chance to open his eyes…because if she fails to do so now, if she fails to open her Nagato's eyes…then no one will be able to do so.

Pain perked up, his eyes widening in alarm as he tilted his head slightly to the left, a split second before a paper arrow pierced the air, cutting a single, orange hair from his head. The speed of the slash was so vicious and swift the Rinnegan wielder could actually hear it in his ears, it was so close to him, filled with intentions to cut and destroy.

Upon missing its target, the paper arrow dove down towards the village, disappearing from Pain's sight as the rain slowly hid it away.

The Rinnegan wielder instantly stood upwards and swiftly turned around, watching Konan assuming her fighting stance, crossing her arms vertically, her deep, purple eye shadow rolling down her cheeks, as if they are black tears of rage and anger, only adding to the Angel's enraged expression.

Her fighting stance was one of despair, of last resort, this is the only way in which she would be able to bring back her Nagato. A portion of Konan's body, mainly her blue, smooth hair, her soft skin, her Akatsuki cloak and her sleeves began cracking slightly, the cracks forming geometric shapes of rectangles as some of them gave birth to many paper sheets. The paper sheets slowly hovered around her, ready to fold themselves into deadly weapons and charge at the Rinnegan wielder at her mind's command.

"Konan, I do not understand," Pain muttered weakly, surprised, awestruck, not believing his sight as his jaw dropped slightly. He could not believe that Konan, his own Angel, will go to such drastic actions because of something so minor, so futile and unnecessary. He was confused, what was that expression she bore? What was appearing on her face that made his heart tremble? The warm Nagato was getting enraged, trying to resist him as much as he could, trying to break free viciously. Pain could not allow him to do as he wished, he cannot feel emotions, not anymore. He was born to make peace, the only peace it can make, the only peace he _will _make. Emotions are just a burden, forcing beings from their current path and causing them to stray away slowly…but…that didn't prevent the immense shock he was going through. "Why…why are you doing all of this? What makes you so drastic and determined? What have I done to anger you like that, Konan? Why do you oppose my ideals? Why do you oppose my ways for peace? Why do you decide to do it now, when I'm…when _we're _so close to achieving our goal?"

Konan glared at the Rinnegan wielder, disgusted by his courage to stick her into his questions. There were never "we" here, only him, him, and his cursed ideals for fake peace. There is no turning back now, this is the only chance, and probably the best chance she will ever get. He can now hear her words, her Nagato can now hear her words, and he can also comprehend and understand them, nothing she says now will go unheard by him, he was forced to listen. She must confess, she must pour down her heart…this is the only solution. "Because…I…I…_love you_!" Konan announced angrily before some of the paper sheets surrounding her folded into razor-sharp, deadly paper arrows and charged at the Rinnegan wielder, causing him to dodge her extremely fast arrows with effortless elegance, the inhuman speed of those arrows seemingly no match for his skill. His shocked, awed Rinnegan eyes were nevertheless still locked with hers…her eyes…those amber eyes, what was in them that made his head ache, that made his body slowly sink down into them? What was in that angry, cold expression that made his gut clench horribly? That made his body heavy?

"Because you are the only one I have left in this world! Because you are the only one I have ever had!" Konan yelled as she swung her arms rapidly, sending waves of paper arrows towards the Rinnegan wielder with blinding speed. Pain dodged each arrow effortlessly, but his emotionless shell was heavily struck by every single arrow. "I was an ignorant, standing all this time as I watched you falling into darkness...I was afraid...I didn't say a thing...and it was a terrible mistake! I cannot let this nightmare continue…because…because I want to see your smile again! Because I want to feel your touch again! Because I want my Nagato back! This is why…if you are not willing to open your eyes and admit your mistakes out of your free will…then…then…I will _make _your eyes open, even if I end up hurting you!"

Pain's eyes widened in shock at Konan's words, he had indeed once thought that she felt like that towards him, and he had once felt like that towards her…felt…he began dwelling on thoughts of the past, only to shake his head violently. No, he will not give up to those emotions!

He could then see Konan charging at him viciously, her expression turning into a snarl as she roared weakly from anger. Countless of paper sheets began climbing down her forelimbs and leak from her hands, pilling up on one another as they turned them into sharp, long, white paper blade, resembling Pain's infamous chakra blades.

"Because I do not want to experience the pain of losing someone so important to me ever again!"

And there she was, an inch away from him, ready to strike him down, and at the last second, Pain's expression turned into a frown, and from there into a glare.

And at the endless, raining skies of the village, filled with gray, thick clouds which gave the industrial Amegakure such a gloomy touch, a loud clash could be heard, echoing through the village, as it slowly dimmed down into silence.

The rain was only getting stronger and stronger, turning into a barrage of merciless teardrops, tapping on Konan's shocked, horrified expression. The Angel was pinned down to the floor by Pain, who held her tightly, making sure she won't try anything in attempt to escape or hurt him, knowing exactly how experienced and unpredictable she can be. Each of his hands were pinning down her beautiful, feminine arms by holding down her wrists mercilessly. And Pain himself was using his body to pin her down to the floor completely, sitting on her abdomen with his legs spread, so it was now between his inner thighs.

Konan was panting and gasping viciously, her amber eyes squinted. Her Akatsuki cloak was slightly torn and her body was horribly trembling, being damaged by Pain in order for him to be able to restrain her successfully. But the physical damage she was experiencing was nowhere near the mental devastation which soon followed it. The Angel couldn't believe her eyes…until she finally manages to make him touch her…touch the body she has reserved only for him throughout all those years…it's coming out like _that_?

The Angel could not take the emotional toll of the realization that she was hurt by her Nagato only because she tried her best for him- to change him, to open his eyes and bring him back, as if he liked sinking down into darkness, into his slow, emotionless death. She always wanted him to touch her, that was no secret that those many years in which she only stared at him eventually got her needy to his touch, a need which she was forced to tug into the corner of her heart, knowing it will not happen.

She wanted him to touch her…but not like this.

Konan began struggling violently to break free out of Pain's grasp, but soon she was proven that it was in vain as her delicate body slowly subdued into Pain's weight, the Rinnegan wielder activating more physical force to restrain her…he was way heavier than her. In physical struggle, she was doomed to lose.

Konan's struggle ceased and she stayed still, her body tearing itself apart, not wanting to doubt and think what would happen if she kept struggling. When faced with this beast, Konan indeed realized that Pain would be able to bring himself to hurt her much more with no remorse whatsoever.

And the vicious, endless rain was tapping her, each tap becoming heavier and heavier, as if they were countless stabs of despair and sorrow, impaling down her body…washing her…washing her blue hair…washing her hope…washing her heart…

Washing her dreams…washing her dreams of seeing her Nagato finally smiling.

"You are…not my…my Nagato…" Konan mattered sadly, weakly, her voice shaking from sadness and devastation, her scared, amber eyes hiding themselves from his, knowing that if she ever looked at his Rinnegan, she will lose the last shackles of hope holding her up. "My Nagato…my Nagato would've never hurt me…my Nagato would've realized something is wrong here…my Nagato would've listened to me…and you…you are not anywhere near my Nagato…"

"You have finally understood…I am Nagato no more…" Pain retorted emotionlessly; a slight frustration in his heart when he saw that she does not look at him, does not bother herself with his presence, triggering something in his heart. What was it? What was that longing feeling inside him when her eyes are turned away from his? "Nagato's emotions made him weak…they were a burden in his path, merely obstacles…he was inferior to me…and I was stronger than him…because Pain has no emotions to create obstacles before him. Pain is stronger."

With those last, completely idiotic, last words, which now seemed to be clearer to her more than ever before, Konan's despair and devastation were flung away from her heart by uncontrollable rage and anger. "Then…I HATE PAIN!" She roared, her heart filled with rage as she snarled at him, her anger-filled, amber eyes surprising the Rinnegan wielder even more. What was that strange, gapping feelings that sore through his body when watching her so angry?

Konan began struggling against his hold, not willing to give up as she used all of her remaining power, all the last bits of her hope she could gather, deciding to take out some of the rage she was keeping inside her all those years. Her arms were now moving on their own, as if they were machines, slowly overpowering Pain's hold, slowly breaking from his grasp. He attempted to struggle, but something was preventing him from doing so, shackling down his body as his eyes widened in shock, watching Konan's upper body slowly rising from the cold floor, forcing him backwards, her hands clenched into fists. "Pain doesn't _smile_! Pain doesn't _cry_! Pain doesn't _laugh_! Pain doesn't _love_! You think that Nagato is _"inferior"_ to you because he had _emotions_? Because he had a _heart_? That is _BULLSHIT!_" Konan roared, squeezing her eyes shut as she put in more power, seeing that she is so close to break out of his grasp, out of that chain of despair and sorrow, so angry that she didn't care that she cursed, remembering Nagato had told her that it is a disgrace to curse when being gifted with such great mental features that she had. She then snapped her eyes opened once more, rage and hatred now filling her amber irises. "That _"inferior"_ Nagato is the one I love! He is my world! He offered me his shoulders to cry on whenever I needed him! He hugged me and comforted when I cried! That Nagato was _superior _to you in ways you will never be able to even _imagine_! You are nothing but a fake! A counterfeit! A shadow compared to that _"inferior" _Nagato! In fact, you are nothing but a shell in Yahiko's image filled with absolutely _nothing _aside from pathetic desire for revenge! You are a mons-"

Pain's eyes eventually hardened, deciding to put out all of his strength as he tightened his hold around Konan's wrist, making the enraged Angel's expression instantly change into a painful one as she chocked back a scream, feeling her wrists nearly shattered by the clutch. With that merciless force, Pain slammed down Konan's upper body on the stoned floor once more, causing Konan's eyes to widen completely in utter shock and despair, watching her last bits of hope getting shattered, seeing that her last effort was in vain, and was unable to defeat this monster.

Konan looked away, all hopes, dreams and positive emotions being washed away from her heart like the rain washed her body. She was never brought into such an emotional situation throughout her entire life…her heart was breaking apart, much like her hope that Pain would return being the warm Nagato she loved.

There was a long, deadly silence, only the sound of the rain tapping on Konan's and Pain's bodies could be heard. Pain didn't say a word, he remained speechless, something gripping tightly in his mind, making his consciousness scream for it to let go.

"I want him back…" Konan sobbed quietly, giving up all hopes of seeing her warm Nagato again, giving up all dreams, she didn't need those anymore, not now when she had seen how low Pain had sunk, she doesn't care to let her weak, shattered heart pour down.

Pain's eyes widened in shock as Konan's eyes squinted, amber irises blurred by countless tears, similar to the rain, only that they could be clearly seen by the Rinnegan wielder. Pain felt that feeling…that feeling from before, that strange squeeze around his heart, making it ache…was that what Konan would call "sadness"? He doesn't remember…it had been so long…

Konan began sniffing repeatedly, her sniffs getting heavier and heavier as she tried her best to hold it all in, deciding that she doesn't want to let Pain have the pleasure of watching her fall. The tears eventually escaped her amber eyes, rolling down her cheeks like rivers, and when the Angel realized she could do nothing at the matter, she just allowed even more tears to surface.

She was crying, she was breaking apart, falling, dying…it all felt like one, big nightmare…a nightmare where she is falling into an endless, dark abyss, knowing that Nagato will not be there to catch her and prevent her fall.

Pain was shocked to the very core by that heartbreaking sight. He had never thought that he will get to see Konan crying again…but the fact that he did make his heart ache once more. He realized what he had done to her, for so many years, the innocent Angel endured all of this physical and mental torture that he, himself, had brought upon her.

Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, on the contrary, Pain thought that upon giving up every single emotion in his heart, it would prevent him from causing further pain to Konan…but in the end…he was doing the exact opposite. He was blinded, a downright fool, he finally realized that he was proven wrong by his Angel…learning it the hard way as the sight of her tearful, amber eyes carved itself viciously into his mind.

He wanted to speak…but something didn't let him to…_someone _didn't let him to…as if his body wanted him to suffer endlessly at that sight, to see for himself what he had done.

To see for himself the sight of his Angel breaking down.

"I want the inferior Nagato back…" Konan sobbed, squeezing her eyes shut and snarling in sadness, sobbing slightly as her heart was so close to the breakdown, trying to hold onto the last bits of consciousness inside her. "Without him, I have nothing left to live for in this world…all I ever wanted is to see _his _smile again…all I ever wanted is to feel _his _touch again…all I ever wanted is _him _to be with me…_him _to comforted me…because I cannot live without _him_…I never could. I want him…I _need _him back…Nagato…Nagato…"

Pain closed his eyes and groaned mentally, looking away in slight guilt. He had never seen her like this, even when Yahiko died…how long had she been feeling like this? How long was she keeping it inside? How long was she feeling like this towards _him_? Maybe ever since he began torturing her like this, for eight, whole years.

"When…when was the last time _you_ said "good morning, Konan"?" The Angel suddenly questioned quietly the self-proclaimed god of Ame, not expecting an answer, because she didn't get one. All Pain did was looking at her blankly, unable to find the courage to speak directly to her, unable to even answer her question. "When was the last time _you_ said "thank you, Konan", for all the hard work I do for you? For all the hard work I've been doing constantly for you throughout these years? When was the last time _you_ said "good night, Konan"…so I won't have those horrible nightmares each time I fell asleep? When was the last time _you _did all the things my Nagato had? When?"

Pain sighed sadly at the Angel's depressed questions, watching her cry, watching her breaking down…he had finally realized that she was right, that each of her claims were accurate and correct. She was always taking care of his requests and putting her own health second to his, she always neglected herself for him. She always takes care of his body and needs, and in return, he gives her nothing…no, he _takes _from her all she ever had- her Nagato.

"Konan…I…" For the first time ever, Pain felt his mind shattering with every single word he managed to squeeze down, unable to find the strength to talk…to speak to her…his heart was cowering to face his sin. "I'm so close…Konan…I'm so close…I can finally bring peace upon…upon this world…like a true god…forgive for being unable to oblige to your…commands…not when I'm so close…after peace is-"

Pain's eyes slowly widened in horror at the last sentence which emerged from his lips, knowing that this last sentence wasn't intended, wasn't expressed correctly, but Pain could only drop his jaw in disbelief at Konan's expression, seeing the impact those words had on her.

She looked at him, her eyes fully widened in deep terror, her pupils viciously shrunk, filled with devastation and destruction. Her jaw dropped completely, tears rolling uncontrollably from her eyes, yet she stayed dead silent, and did nothing at that matter, the rain only tapping on her face, emphasizing the trails of her washed eye-shadowing.

She realized what he had just said, she now realized that her demands, her needs, _she _was second to his fake, pathetic peace, that he will not bother to change himself for her, that he will not let himself be dragged away from the darkness which is engulfing him now…all she said, all she showed him, all she did for him throughout those years…all her hopes and all her dreams, the only thing she ever wanted- being with her Nagato…was now nothing but a shattered lie.

"K-Konan," Pain started, his face shocked, his voice slightly frantic and deep, still lacking any kind of emotions. He could still fix all of this, there was still a point of return, he could gather back all the pieces of her heart. "Y-You misundersto-"

Before the Rinnegan wielder even managed to get close to finishing his sentence, Konan's body was instantly divided into countless of paper sheets. The paper sheets scattered across the bridge, escaping Pain's grasp, showing him that she was always able to escape his hold as the paper sheets buzzed angrily like a vortex of mixed, devastated emotions.

All Pain could do was to stare with widened eyes as the paper sheets slowly glided into the entrance of the building, where they slowly piled up on one another and took the shape of Konan's body, hidden by the shadows of the hall leading to the bridge. She was hiding from the rain, hiding from _him_, but she was ever so close, and ever so far. She was shaking in sorrow and despair, looking at Pain with tear-filled, devastated amber eyes, sobbing, giving up everything she ever hoped for. "You're…you're not…a _god_…" She sobbed, her voice shaking in the rhythm of her tremble from the utter, devastating emotional stress slowly squeezing down her heart as her tears hit the stoned floor. "You…YOU ARE A MONSTER!"

That was it, that was when it all broke apart, all of her memories, all of her most cherished moments, her entire childhood, her past, her present, and her future…her emotions and her body…that was when her delicate, innocent heart could not carry the emotional torture forced on it all those years, all of those negative emotions and that horrible emotional stress gathering up inside of it…and it just…broke down.

Konan could feel her heart starting to beat erratically, screaming from agony. She then burst into sheer, vicious crying, wailing and screaming in sorrow as she turned around and ran as fast as she could deeper into the tower.

And Pain was left alone, outside, in the freezing rain, which only now felt so cold and unforgiving for him. His jaw was completely dropped, his eyes widened in disbelief, he was still able to pick up the traces of her almost visible image. He sent out his hand, attempting to reach her with his palm, but the distance was so tremendous. _'Ba-Bansho Tenin…'_

The rain just continued tapping loudly, Pain slowly lowering his head, the tears of the skies crying for his pathetic image, crying in sadness for all he had brought on his Angel. His face slowly frowned, and from that frowned slowly emerged a saddened expression, or however Konan would call it.

He wished for a U turn point…he wished for a second chance…he wished for _anything _that will make his Angel reappear on this bridge. The rain slowly sank into his Akatsuki cloak, into his figure, slowly wetting him down, the first time it actually managed to make true contact with him.

And the Rinnegan wielder's ears could still hear the screams and wails of his Angel, echoing through the entire tower, the echoes getting weaker and weaker as the Angel headed deeper and deeper into it. Her screams echoed through his heart, crushing it with a powerful, feral grip.

The Rinnegan wielder slammed his head violently on the stoned floor, closing his eyes and bringing up a snarl, the first snarl he had in years. He hoped for the horrible pain echoing through his body to stop when the floor tore apart his head…it did not. Pain's head remained whole, feeling no pain, no ache.

The pain only became stronger and stronger, causing his body to tremble as he could feel his consciousness slipping away. He began slamming his right fist on the floor, again, and again, and again, and again and again and again, unable to take the sheer mental pain, yet feeling no physical pain which would nullify the mental one and distract him from all of this.

He buried his head into the stoned floor, blood covering his right palm as he barely sprawled on the bride, his body on its knees, the screams of his Angel echoing in his mind, digesting it, tearing it apart.

The rain was slowly tapping his body into submission, his figure devastated in the rain as it tapped in louder, sinking into his hair, reducing it from its spiky form, his body trembling viciously. His hair was now covering his face, so no being would be able to see that sliding down the Rinnegan wielder's nose and tapping onto the stoned floor were rivers of tears, accompanying a slight sob.

Just at that moment, as if his breakdown wasn't enough, the memories of his first meeting with Konan tore apart his mind as it appeared and danced along to his endless, vicious mental pain, letting him know that it was his Angel who allowed him to continue living, it was her who saved his life when he needed an Angel to save him.

"_Here…eat this…"_

"_Are you sure?"_

"_Yeah…"_

At that point, countless of tears were gushing down Pain's eyes, soft sobs echoing from his snarl, the tears slowly gliding through the cracks between the stoned tiles of the bridge, mixing with the countless of raindrops travelling across it. _'Konan…' _Pain thought, his devastated mind and torn soul now realizing how horrible he had acted towards his beloved Angel all those years, and how he rewarded her with everything he had done.

If something or someone would come now and attempt to kill the one controlling him, he would be grateful, if his Angel would appear before the devil which was manipulating his body from the top of the tower and impale his throat with her paper blades…he would be grateful.

If his existence will come to end right now…he would be grateful.

'_I am so sorry….what have I become?' _Pain thought, his eyes squinting slightly, the tears burning down his Rinnegan as his Angel's words echoed through his heart._ 'You are right…my Angel…I am…I am…'_

On a certain, pitch-black room at the summit of the tower, the sound of countless of teardrops tapping on the stoned floor could be heard, echoing through the chamber.

Connected to a mechanical walker which had granted him the ability to travel great distances with minimal effort, the mechanical walker Konan spent months on top of months torturing herself to construct, to the point the remaining members of the Akatsuki would just beg for her to lie down and rest, to take a break, Nagato was crying uncontrollably, his tears escaping his squeezed eyes and tapping on the stoned floor, the endless feelings of guilt, remorse and despair growing bigger and bigger inside his heart.

He began looking backwards, at his old self, at the warm Nagato, the one Konan loved, back when Yahiko was alive…when he could see and feel Konan's smile whenever he said something to her, or if he just plainly asked her to smile, where everything was innocent and peaceful…he now looked at himself, the emotionless monster which brought pain and mental torture upon his innocent Angel throughout eight years, the monster who emerged from the endless abyss of Yahiko's death and brought itself to be the epitome of hatred and revenge, the one who was able to bring pain upon his Angel and attack her mercilessly when she attempted to open his eyes with force, to reflect him upon his mistakes, to shoulder him from that hatred and vengeance engulfing his body.

'_A monster…a horrible monster.'_

* * *

Konan continued crying and wailing heavily as she ran as fast as she could through the dark, pipe-filled hallways, searching for her bedroom, remembering every turn she must take. Her fast steps echoed through the tower when colliding with the stoned floor, forming a melody of sorrow together with her sobbing.

That's it, she had taken the last turn and was now looking at a wooden door, amber eyes filled with enraged and devastated tears. Hers and Nagato's bedroom, the place where they were the closest to each other, even if it was only physically, a place well suited so somber her hopes, her sadness, and her sorrow.

The Angel charged at the door and broke it open angrily, roaring as she did so. She entered the bedroom, slamming the door behind her as hard as she could, hoping it would shatter with the rest of her world. She had spotted it, in the center of the room against the opposite wall, a large, double bed, the bed where she and Nagato were sleeping in.

The endless barrage of raindrops could still be heard tapping outside, just like her ruined tears, she could hear the rain whispering in her ears, to let it enter the room.

Konan sent her hand and clutched the collar of her Akatsuki cloak angrily, throwing it away from her body and on the stoned floor in rage, hearing the sound that it made upon resting on in softly. She untied the bun ponytail angrily, causing the blue, smooth locks trapped inside to break free and take their position on her head, making her hair slightly longer until it almost reached her shoulders. She then reached towards the paper flower she had been making every day since Yahiko died, resting peacefully on her blue hair, taking it off her head and squeezing it tightly in her hand, crushing and tearing the poor flower apart as the water soaked in it from the rain climbed down her forelimb, causing her to shiver even more.

The Angel cried as she swung her arm and tossed what once used to be a beautiful paper flower wildly on the floor…it was now a wet, crumbled, crushed piece of paper sheet that had once signified her hopes, her dreams, the dreams to be in Nagato's arms…a dream she knew that was now just a dream, a dream that no longer existed.

She slammed her front body on the mat and instantly slammed her face in her soft, white pillow, crying heavily into it as she repeatedly slammed her enraged fists and kicks on the innocent mat, hoping that it would help calming her down, pretending that it was the one who was pinning her to the stoned floor, hurting her, crushing her mind and dreams just a few moments ago.

And even though it was so far away from feeling like it, the Angel could only pretend that the soft pillow is the shoulder of her beloved Nagato, coming to comfort her. She could imagine his smile in her mind…only to be saddened and devastated even more when she realize that it was the smile she will never get to see anymore.

The atmosphere around the dark room was freezing, caressing her body softly, each caress ruining her, hoping that she will finally lose the slight remnants of sanity which were clinging into her soul. She could still hear the raindrops outside, the rain just getting heavier and heavier, as if it was happy, as if it laughed at her, as if it was begging to enter the room and play with her mind together with the atmosphere.

Those thoughts didn't help supporting her emotional, devastated crumble. She hated that village, despised it with her very soul- what a horrible place to live, what a cold place to live. She wanted to leave that village and never, ever return. But deep in herself she realized, she realized Nagato needs her by his side, to take care of him. Without her, how will he be able to walk? How will he be able to eat? How will he be able to continue that daily, emotionless, horrible routine of his without her help? If not as his friends, it is her duty as his partner to help him in every way she could…to help that emotionless monster to continue living and plunging itself further into darkness.

'_IT'S NOT FAIR! IT'S NOT FAIR!' _Konan roared mentally as she grabbed the blanket and tossed it over her in rage, assuming her sleeping position, her body shivering from the cold as she hugged the pillow and squeezed it against her face, hearing how it swallowed her cries and screams and only got soaked with her tears. _'I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!'_

He was her love, her dreams…he was her happiness, her hope…her Nagato was that eternal light which surrounded her with warmth, he was that light at the end of that deep, long tunnel she was walking through, running towards him, the tunnel which had not a single flicker of light and hope.

Now…he is her hatred, her nightmares, her sorrow, her despair, he is that creeping darkness snaking around her body, surrounding her with shivers and tears, he is that darkness of the abyss she was falling through, diving towards, with no one to catch her, just falling and falling.

He was once called her beloved Nagato…Now, all she can call him is her hatred, Pain.

And so passed the first ten minutes of her emotional crumble, and the Angel's screams and wails hasn't weakened the slightest bit. She began thinking on what could've happened if Yahiko was here, she began thinking on how he will beat up Nagato to the point he was begging for his life, to rage at him on how deep he had fallen, that he was once the savior of this world, the one she loved, to end his life with a single impalement of her blades, of her deadly paper arrows, which were recruited by him to pass down judgment upon the ones who were polluting peace, the arrows who were supposed to slice his head down so many years ago…

There was a gentle knock on the wooden door, soft, slow, lingering, a knock which echoed through the dark room and cut off Konan's trail of thoughts. Even if she denied it in every way possible, she knew who was the one knocking, who was the one behind the door, waiting for a response. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?" She screamed in rage, enraged that he still has the nerve to come before her after all he had done, enraged that he made her recall all those wonderful moments she had with him in their childhood.

Behind the wooden door, Pain squeezed his eyes shut and flinched at Konan's outburst. He couldn't believe how angry she was, to think that his calm, kind Angel could reach such levels of anger and despair...no, not the calm, kind Angel- the ruined, devastated Angel that he had turned her to…that his inhuman treatment and emotionless eyes turned her to. "K-Konan, my Angel," He started softly, hesitatingly, afraid, trying to stiff in as much positive emotions as he could- comfort, softness, warmth, hoping that his voice would be able to melt through the walls of iron separating between them, the walls which looked like a wooden door, a door he could not allow himself to open on his own…A door he could open at all without her permission. "May I come in, please?"

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HERE!"

Pain's eyes completely widened in disbelief, the sheer, enraged, vicious roar filled with devastation and despair, accompanied by uncontrollable rage that tore apart through the door and knocked his hand from the handle.

"DON'T…DON'T EVEN DARE TO CALL ME YOUR ANGEL EVER AGAIN!"

The Rinnegan wielder's eyes were now completely widen in awe and shock, to actually reach such a point when his Angel even makes such a claim, for him to never call her "his Angel"…he had realized, there is no turning point from what he had done.

Not even caring about his reaction, Konan resumed crying her heart out, remembering all she had been through with her warm Nagato…

The time when she first met him completely by coincidence, a devastated orphan, dying in the middle of nowhere.

How satisfied she had felt when she gave him food, seeing him eating that bread as fast as he could as if he hasn't eaten for ages, the smile that spread on his face when he looked at her, seeing her smiling at him innocently.

How she had brought him to Yahiko, and Yahiko allowed him to join the family, the three's bond tightening to the point they felt like a _real _family.

How they had all worked on schemes and missions to acquire food, even if it was illegal. How they often succeeded and managed to steal something they could eat, sharing it between them no matter it's' size.

How often they were hurt when discovered, only to laugh at the expressions of the ones they were about to steal from when they managed to get away.

How it had all turned to the time Nagato and her were crying from hunger, hugging each other, giving Yahiko the determination to go and seek food from them like a big brother.

How they met Jiraiya and their family expanded, a father being added to it. How he trained them all, and how they continued training with each other as time passed.

How they had all formed Akatsuki to bring peace, going on various of dangerous mission. How often both of Nagato and Yahiko were hurt, and she was the one to treat them while scolding them not to hurt themselves like a mother.

How she was grabbed hostage by Hanzo's scheme, and how Yahiko had sacrificed himself…how Nagato didn't even hesitate for a second and managed to save her, even at the cost of his own legs.

How from there on, her life began slowly turning into a nightmare as the compassionate, warm Nagato she had known was locked away by Pain, and all of her memories were now just memories of the past.

That was it, that was when those thoughts crushed the Angel's mind and she collapsed in sheer crying, screaming and wailing as loud as she could, slamming her fists repeatedly on the mat as hard as she could, hoping that all of that would just prove to be what it is- a long, endless nightmare.

No one will come to comfort her anymore, from here on out, she is on her own.

Outside the room, Pain turned around with his back against the walls, closing his eyes sadly and listening to the horrible thing he had done to his Angel, her screams and shrieks of agony screaming at him, making him realize that he had crossed the line so long ago.

And that is how the next hour had passed, Pain sitting next to the door outside the room, his back against the wall and his face buried in his hands, forcing himself to listen to the screams of sorrow and despair erupting from the room, regretting every single thing he had done to her, wishing that all of this could've gone differently, that he could've seen through her calm, serious silhouette sooner, and react properly…wishing that he could've said something different and react differently when she told him she wants her Nagato back this morning.

He had never thought such a thing was emotionally-possible, for a person to scream and cry for a whole hour without running out of tears, without running out of hatred and despair, without running out of devastation. It had only showed him how much she was holding inside her, the fact that she didn't even got close to that when she was mourning Yahiko's death.

He finally understood what it means to understand the true value of something only when it was taken away from you, to never take anything for granted…because nothing lasts forever.

The resolve and realization suddenly hit the Rinnegan wielder in his head, causing him to remove it from his hands instantly, wiping away the tears as he stood up as quick as he could, a determined expression on his face. It was all because of him, he was the one to do this to her, maybe, somehow, even if he cannot give her back those lost, horrible years, maybe he could undo the damage, maybe he can make sure it stops right here…he must apologize, he must face the epitome of his mistakes, he must face his Angel, he must beg for her forgiveness, he must offer her whatever she wants, emotions are the least he could give her…perhaps then, perhaps then she will forgive his pleas and sobs, and then he would be at least able to call himself a _human_.

Not caring that she clarified to him not to enter the room, Pain turned around and opened the door cautiously, slowly, not wanting to startle what was inside there…he did not know how much his Angel's emotional crumble had affected her behavior…what it turned her into.

Her screams were beginning to sound more like feral roars throughout this hour.

The light which came into the room lightened it a bit, allowing Pain so peek from outside the room at the bed. He could still hear her cry, he could still hear her scream, the pain tearing him apart as he cautiously opened the door completely.

He took a single step cautiously into the room, entering the darkness, entering the epitome of his Angel's despair, a place he felt so unworthy to be in currently…he was suddenly forced back when something soft charged at his face with a thud, the power of the throw so powerful and unexpected that it took him all his power not to lose balance from the surprise.

The Rinnegan wielder grabbed what was now glued to his face and removed it from his eyes, looking at it with an awestruck expression- a pillow…a single pillow, a pillow soaked to the core with tears, tearing apart his heart as he realized that those tears were his Angel's. He then looked at the bed, his eyes widening as a terrified expression appeared on his face upon seeing the horrifying sight.

Konan was in the back of the room, the blanket was wrapped around her delicate body, completely terrified and scared, devastated and shaking to the bone, crying heavily, tears rolling from her fully widened, red eyes.

That sight tore him apart so much, to the point the Rinnegan wielder could feel tears rolling from his eyes again…he just wanted to charge at her and hug her as tight as he could, to tell her how much he was sorry and just cry with her until the end of the world…but that won't do any good, he must act correctly, he must not do anything drastic at this point.

The emotionally-collapsed Angel instantly tucked herself to the end of the bed, curling up into a ball, the blanket still wrapped around her, not supplying enough warmth as she continued shivering heavily, burying her face in her knees, crying uncontrollably, wailing and sobbing.

Pain's eyes widened in horror, his jaw dropping again, he recognized that, he recognized that curled form, those tears and sobs, yes, he had recognized those features so well. _'She's traumatized…she's hypertilating as well…' _He concluded in disbelief, unable to face what he had done to her as he took a cautious stance, not exactly knowing how to face the traumatized Angel. _'I-I must do something!'_

He took a single, almost microscopic step towards the bed, and Konan lifted her head from her knees instantly, shooting him a horrible snarl that the Rinnegan wielder never thought could be formed, her eyes completely widened in rage, tears still flowing, sobbing. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" She screamed in despair, freezing Pain in his tracks. "I TOLD YOU TO GO AWAY!"

Pain felt deep empathy and compassion again climbing up from the depths of his body, yet somehow managed to force them back. He had then realized- no one could battle emotions, they were too powerful, no one could have enough strength to defeat them, they can only be stalled, but then return with even greater power…and he, too, will eventually lose to his emotions and collapse just like her…but not now, he cannot allow himself to collapse now, he must stay cool and act fast, to prevent Konan from being traumatized any further or there really be no return point for him…for him…and her.

He took another slight step, tears rolling from his eyes as he expected her to react, and so she did, launching another pillow at his face with the force of a bullet, forcing him backwards again to where he started. "LEAVE ME ALONE!" Konan screamed before pressing herself against the bed's headboard, shaking and crying heavily, her palms clutching to her shoulders beneath the wrapped blanket.

Pain's eyes hardened as he grabbed the pillow and threw it away as hard as he could, not wanting anything to prevent him from looking at her. He scanned the bed cautiously, noting that there is nothing left that the Angel could throw at him…yet in such situations, he had learn that it is when he must expect the unexpected, to think about the worst case scenario. _'I must stop this…it won't be long before the trauma will increase…and if it does…Kami…' _He thought frantically, the image of his beautiful Angel putting herself out of his misery trying to flash through his mind. _'Thank god there is nothing she can use here to injure herself…'_

Pain took a defensive and cautious stance, his eyes locked with Konan's deeply, looking at her enraged, amber irises and black pupils. He had first seen in eight years how beautiful her eyes were, and with that thought he began taking another cautious step, doing it as slow as he can, the dead silence only making room for Konan's sobs and wails.

"YOU MONSTER, WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?" Konan roared in rage as she swung her upper body forward, trying to intimidate him, thinking that maybe her rage will make this monster disappear. "YOU RUINED MY ENTIRE LIFE! I DESPISE YOU! STAY BACK!"

Pain's eyes widened again at Konan's ruined roars, maybe it is the punishment given upon him for what he had done, for how deep he had sunk, for treating her like nothing all those years…but why it must be _her_? Why does _she _need to pay for it all, to pay for _his _mistakes? What had she done to deserve this?

Pain's eyes again narrowed, knowing what the answer is- she does not deserve this, she doesn't deserve to be in such condition because of him, he is the one who must undergo what she's going, not the opposite.

He must do it, he must beg for her forgiveness…and he must do it now…now or never.

With a move Konan could have never predicted, Pain lunged forward as fast as he could and grabbed both of her wrists in his strong hands before launching backwards, pulling her unwillingly out of the bed, as much as she tried to resist, into a…

Konan's rage heightened beyond limits as she began repeatedly hitting Pain, who wrapped his right arm around her shoulders and his left arm around her waist, pulling her into a tight, one-sided hug. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" The Angel roared as loud as she could as she swung her forelimbs backwards and forwards, hitting the Rinnegan wielder's waist and back with her fists, roaring, grunting, and wailing with each blow.

She struggled against his hug, swinging her body any direction while hitting him, hoping he would just break and let go of her so she can run away and put an end to all of this, to just break from the hug of the monster which ruined her life. "LET THE FUCK GO!" She roared, frustrated and even more enraged at the Rinnegan wielder's stubbornness.

Why didn't he let go of her?

It didn't happen, Pain did not let go of her…how could he? How could he let go of his beloved Angel after all he had done to her? Never, he will never let go of her, not until he quells down her anger and her despair, until he brings back his beloved Angel, and begs for her forgiveness.

Each hit the enraged Angel gave him felt like a stab of negative, devastated emotions, packing so much emotional power like he had never seen before. He had never thought that it would hurt so much, that such weak, exhausted hits would hurt his heart and mind so much…he thanked himself for being able to feel mental pain, now he knows how much she was holding back, how much she wanted her Nagato back, how much she hated him…him…not her Nagato, he was not her Nagato, not yet.

With every single hit, even though the Angel was too enraged to be aware of it, she was shattering Pain's emotionless shell, which was already so close to collapsing, her beloved, warm Nagato looking through the cracks in the cage, enraged at what that monster had brought upon his Angel.

Getting hit like that continuously by her, by his Angel, by the one who had meant everything to him, the only one who ever showed affection to him, the one who was tortured for years on top of years by him and was hurt ruthlessly by him when she tried to open his eyes and save him, the Rinnegan wielder could not withstand such immense, mental damage.

He had realized all of that was a result of Konan keeping it all inside her, all these years, gathering her sadness and despair into a tight bubble, a bubble that was burst mercilessly by him.

He closed his eyes shut, flinching heavily by every single punch from his Angel, not physically, but mentally, getting as far as wincing by the mental damage and pain he was receiving from Konan. He felt like not much time will pass before he collapses, like every hit was speaking on its own, cursing him, calling him a monster, reflecting upon what he had done to her…he was slowly losing it.

Konan began feeling that her shoulder was getting wet by Pain's tears, which rolled down his cheeks as he buried his head in her shoulder, only angering her more. She couldn't care the less about him crying, she didn't refrain from hitting that monster which was hugging her, touching her, touching her body, the body she had reserved and flourished for the warm touch of her Nagato for so long, to kiss, hug, and do anything with her to his heart's desire…she wanted to be his, she wanted Nagato to take her in his embrace, she wanted _him _to be the one touching her, not anyone else.

But that monster which was hugging her wasn't her Nagato, he couldn't have been her Nagato, he didn't even feel like him. His body was cold, she could even feel his piercings under his Akatsuki cloak while hitting him. His body wasn't comforting at all, it just sent chills and shivers through her body…it wasn't Nagato, Nagato didn't feel like it at all.

"K-Konan, my Angel," Pain sobbed weakly into her shoulder as the Angel doubled the emotional strength of her blows, knowing that his emotionless shell was shattered and his heart was exposed, the heart which was now being shattered slowly by the blows of his enraged Angel. "Please stop! I will not be able to endure much longer! I-I just want to talk!"

He hoped for her to stop, for his words to get into her heart, for her to listen to reason and realize that he isn't going to cause her any more harm, but to his misfortune, it did not happen…Konan didn't refrain from hitting him, hitting that monster, as if his words didn't mean anything to her, as if she couldn't hear him.

Seeing that his words didn't affect the enraged Angel the slightest bit, Pain decided to rotate quickly, surprising Konan when he dropped on the bed, lying on his back and hugging her on top of him, hoping that the change of position will tire her down, together with her rage, together with her devastation…together with her hits which were shattering him.

It didn't happen, Konan only continued hitting him with everything her body could use to cause him physical and mental damage, even more violently than before, angrier. The Rinnegan wielder saw that changing the position to a more intimate one had only made his Angel more enraged.

Deciding to do one last gamble, Pain swung his body to the side, flipping both of them over so Konan was now the one pinned against the mat with Pain on top of her, still hugging her tightly, knowing that the weight of his body against her delicate, feminine one must tire her down eventually.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Konan screamed in rage, now hitting the Rinnegan wielder beastly, losing control. That monster had touched her way too much, that monster felt her up way too much, she doesn't want this feeling of coldness around her anymore, she just wants to be alone, to somber herself, is that too much to ask?

"GET OFF ME!"

Seeing that he can't take any more hits, and that the next one will shatter him completely, Pain quickly lifted his upper body upwards and caught the hand Konan was about to hit him with. Konan instantly tried to hit him with her other hand, only for Pain to catch it with his other free hand. Having caught both of her hands, Pain quickly pushed his Angel's arms away, pinning them against the mat and so preventing her from hitting him any further. He then proceeded to sit on her beautiful, feminine abdomen so it was now between his thighs, pinning her body on the mat completely, just like before…when all of it began.

Not having anything to distract nor block his sight, Pain was now gazing deeply at the enraged, devastated eyes of his Angel. Having coming in contact with his eyes, Konan began swinging his legs backwards and forwards as hard as she could, hoping it would distort his balance and causing him to flip over, but it was in vain, Pain's legs were on the mat firmly as if they were glued to it.

"Konan…" Pain sobbed softly, quietly, his tears falling from his face and softly tapping on hers, unable to see such an expression on the face of his beautiful Angel. She was snarling at him heavily, her amber eyes filled with everlasting rage and devastation while tears were rolling down her cheeks in great amounts, indicating there is a fair part of sadness and despair inside her as well. She was panting and gasping heavily, her body exhausted to the core by the struggle, by the rapid blows she was giving to him, the weight of his body on her abdomen only weakening her more. "I…"

There was a long silence, Pain again losing his courage to talk, not knowing how to continue the sentence in a way that will make Konan understand how much he's sorry, besides, he doubts that she can even hear him. Only the rain could be heard tapping outside when Pain decided to stay in the current position until Konan calms down, and it wasn't as if he could move, his body was held captivate by the enraged, sobbing amber eyes of Konan, by her vicious snarl, by the sound of her breathing, drawing even more tears from his ringed eyes when he couldn't look away from hers, the deep contact between their locked eyes tearing his heart apart.

As time passed, Pain was still dead silent, listening to Konan's weak breathing, his tears tapping on her face, mixing with her own tears, as if they were dancing together in an endless dance. That is how half an hour passed, half an hour in which Konan struggled from time to time, proving herself way stronger than Pain could've imagined. Nevertheless, the Rinnegan wielder didn't give up and managed to restrain her back each time, weakening her down as a result.

Seeing that Konan's snarl was now rather soft, her breathing slowly stabilizing, Pain decided to carefully soften his grasp around her wrists, wanting to see how she would react for a chance to actually break out of his hold.

Konan did nothing, seemingly not caring, the rage in her eyes only penetrated Pain's eyes and tore apart his body, melting him down to the point he begged her mentally not to look at him like that. He was paying for it, he was paying for all of his mistakes with that, with that horrible feeling of guilt and pain, his emotions have now surfaced, Konan had managed to open his eyes, Konan had managed to change him…but at what cost?

He waited a few good minutes, and then, the Rinnegan wielder cautiously and slowly removed his hands from Konan's wrists, wanting to see how she would react for a chance to send her hand forward and rip his pierced face apart with her rage, to incapacitate his body.

Konan did nothing, the sadness in her amber eyes melting down Pain's heart, drawing a sheer amount of guilt, regret, compassion and love from the self-proclaimed monster of Amegakure, as if her eyes were subduing him, taming him to her will.

That was it, there was nothing holding her, there was nothing preventing from his Angel to attack him, there was nothing restraining her, and yet she did nothing, only staring at him, shattering him apart and torturing him mentally.

He again did something Konan could never predict, something that melted down through her anger, something that had broken the walls of iron separating between them. His hand rested softly on her smooth, soft cheek, wiping away and purging her tears, along with his rage, a soft, sad smile tugging his lips for the first time in so many years when he saw her expression was turning shocked and disbelieved, her jaw dropping slightly and the rage just disappearing from her eyes.

"Have you calmed down?" Pain asked, trying not to make his voice shake from the endless tears which were rolling down his cheek, a loving tone filling his voice when he looked deeply into her amber eyes, looking how beautiful they were.

Konan didn't say anything, too shocked to actually move herself, her disbelieved expression plastered on her face, only giving Pain the approval he needed. Without hesitating, Pain collapsed on top of her, lifeless as a corpse.

Konan's eyes widened even more in shock, remembering what it meant. Just then, the bedroom's door was burst open, causing her to yelp when she looked towards the entrance to the bedroom, at the shadowy figure which was barely standing at the door, holding onto the wall…the shape of it resembling the one of…

Konan's eyes widened in disbelief, seeing Nagato standing at the door, panting, grunting in pain, seeing that he was not connected to his mechanical walker, that he was standing on his own. Her eyes were completely widened when Nagato took a single step, grunting loudly in pain as his burnt legs couldn't support the weight of his body. He instantly grabbed the nearby wall and leaned on it, motioning his Angel not to move when she threw Pain's lifeless body from on top of her to stand up and help him…he would do it on his own…he must, for her.

One slow step after another, one loud grunt after another, the hand holding onto the wall wobbling in pain and exhaustion as it could barely support his weight, and Nagato slowly sat on the bed, right next to a very shocked, astonished Konan.

"N-Nagato…why did yo-"

Everything was going in slow motion for the Angel, the background turning white as Nagato wrapped his weak, thin arms around her delicate, warm body, wailing and crying in agony into her shoulder, whispering something under his breath.

One of his hands traveled to her upper back, folding so he was now clutching her blue hair in his shaking hand, crying uncontrollably, noting that Konan didn't react from the amount of shock and happiness that was put upon her, her mind failing to realize what was now going on. He then parted from the hug, grabbing both of her cheeks softly so their faces were inches away from each other.

He looked deeply into her amber eyes, the eyes which were now filled with even more tears, snarling in agony; eyes squinted with countless of tears flowing from his eyes like waterfalls as he wailed repeatedly. "My Angel…" He sobbed heavily, eyes still locked with her, trying his best not to collapse in sorrow. He pulled her into another hug, another tight, warm, comfortable hug, pressing herself against him as much as he could, feeling the warmth of her body after so many years, feeling her cheek against his, feeling her blue, smooth hair, feeling her tears wetting his naked shoulder blade as he only cried harder. "My Angel…my Angel…my Angel…it's me…it's me…Nagato…I'm Nagato…I'm your Nagato…I wish words…I wish words could describe…how sorry I am!"

He had then collapsed, sobbing and wailing just like she had a few moments ago, letting everything out, pouring down his heart, unable to hold himself bottled up anymore, unable to restrained all of those held-back emotions. For the first time he felt powerful, more powerful than he had ever imagined. "I want to tell you how guilty I feel…how devastated I am…I deserved it all…everything you have done to me…I only now realized how much I have tortured you over the years…my Angel…my beautiful Angel…my Konan…I will never forgive myself…I will never forget how horrible I am…" Nagato sobbed heavily, remembering all those years, how he had treated her like crap, how he had never considered her, never looked at her and gave her any attention. "You were always by my side…you always followed me no matter how deep I sunk…you always took care of me and did everything you could for me even when I treated you like…like _nothing_…I wasn't smart enough and pure enough to see how sad and devastated you were…I forced you to kill, to taint your hands with blood for my corrupted ideals…I tried to grab your legs and sink you into darkness with me…but I could never reached you…the darkness could never reach you…you were still pure…still filled with light…you have not been influenced the slightest bit…you are still innocent, still kind, still loving…just like you used to be…but me…I had embraced that darkness…I had corrupted myself…I locked away my emotions…I was engulfed with darkness, but you were still holding my hand from the light…I turned into a monster…and as a result, I ended up hurting the one I have never wanted to hurt…never imagined to hurt…you, my gorgeous Angel…my Konan…"

Nagato's crying strengthened, clutching Konan's back with all the strength he could put, wanting her to know that he's hear, that he's with her. She was still so shocked, she thought it was a dream, she hadn't returned the hug, she was still traumatized and disbelieved…in the good meaning of the word. "Konan…" Nagato sobbed, knowing that she hears him, knowing that he must pour down everything before begging for her forgiveness. "Do you know why the title "my Angel" was bestowed upon you by a monster like me? It's because you're beautiful, because you're compassionate, because you're kind, so delicate and lovely, because no one else will never be able to possess what you do, no one in the world, not even Kami. You are the reason that I am here right now, that I am alive, because back then…when I was still a child, when I was dying from hunger, collapsed, thinking I will go to the afterlife to meet my parents, you appeared out of nowhere to the middle of nowhere and saved my life…like you were my _Angel_…it has nothing to do with your role and your duties…the torture I brought upon you…it has everything to do with _you_…my Angel…you are my happiness…my love…you are my world…you are everything to me, and I only realize this after I had brought so much suffering upon you…"

He had now said everything he could think of, he had apologized as much as he could. All he could do now now is beg to her forgiveness, hoping he would get it from her, the simple thought of earning back her emotions and trust bringing out only more hope and empathy from the redhead. "My Konan, my Angel, I beg of you…" Nagato sobbed again, pressing Konan closer to him, loving the addicting feeling of her warm, smooth, feminine body, feeling more and more comforted as they grew closer. "I beg of you, my Angel…from now on, I will do anything I can to satisfy you- I will once again return to my pure ideals, I will love you forever, give you every last bit of my attention, will take care of you and undo the damage and torture that I brought upon you…I swear…I will make you smile no matter if I have to go to hell and beyond…then please, I beg for you, find that charming kindness in your heart…to forgive me, to forgive me for what I have brought upon a pure, delicate Angel like you…please give a monster like me a second chance, I swear I will change! I make an oath to you! I swear to Kami, wherever he is! Please allow me to call myself a human, I do not want to be a monster…I do not want to continue living without your forgiveness…I will not be able to…I know what I have done to you was horrible…but I can undo the damage…I can return everything to the way it used to be, and I will, no matter what! I am back now! I am emotional now, and it is all thanks to you, my Angel! Then please, I will fall at your feet if you refuse to forgive me, I will do anything! Please my Angel, please forgive a monster like me! I beg of you!"

The rain outside got stronger, the bedroom was dead-silent, nothing was heard aside from Nagato's sobs, each passing minute making Nagato more and more eager to know his Angel's answer, to know which judgment will be brought upon him by her words. Such irony, only two hours ago he was proclaiming himself god and brought judgment upon thousands, unaware that he was actually a monster. And now, he was patiently waiting for the judgment of his Angel, her words, which will decide his fate and his value- an emotionless, ruthless monster that ruthlessly attacked its Angel and tortured her both mentally and physically for so many years…or a human, filled with emotions and love, who will do anything to make up for his utter mistakes to earn back his Angel's love.

That is it, the silence was broken when Konan finally reacted, wrapping both of her arms around Nagato's shoulder, finally believing all if this wasn't a dream, finally starting to sob heavily into his thin shoulder blade, finally believing that it was him, his warmth, his tears, his eyes, his voice…it was her Nagato.

She removed her head from his shoulder blade and grabbed both of his cheeks, wanting to see this isn't a dream forced upon her by her breakdown, to play with her mind and severe her from her last hopes. She brought his face an inch away from hers, both of them snarling in agony, tears rolling down their shattered eyes.

It took the Rinnegan wielder all his willpower not to collapse again when he saw his Angel's expression, looking deeply into her amber eyes, losing himself as he didn't refrain from hugging her, one hand removing from her body to rest itself on one of her wrists, feeling the touch of her warm, smooth palm…such a soft touch.

"Idiot…"

"…of course…I will…"

Nagato's eyes widened completely, even more than they widened when Yahiko had died in his arms, thinking he might've misheard what his Angel had said. Konan then tackled him in a tight hug, wrapping her arms around the middle of his back from his underarms, trying to make her way through all of those horrible rods which were embed into the body of her beloved as she buried her chin in his shoulder, their cheeks touching, and cried heavily, sobbing, pulling himself closer to her, not minding that all she felt was just skin and bones…he was warm…she could smell his scent, she could hear his heartbeats, the heartbeats of her beloved Nagato…he actually hadn't lost his heart, it was always there, locked away.

"Of course I will forgive you!" Konan wailed viciously, the tears still flowing down her eyes as she closed them shut. "I will forgive you for everything, my Nagato! I'm sorry for losing control like that! I was so angered and despaired I just…didn't know what to do with myself! Just…I just want for you to never leave me again…to stay with me forever! Believe in _your _ideals! Do what _you _want! Yahiko had his own ideals…and you had your own, that was what made you different from each other. That was what brought him to believe _you _are the savior of this world! That is what brought _me_ to believe that as well! Promise me you will be _you_!Promise me you will never hold grudge, resolve things peacefully…do anything you see fit, but don't let hatred and revenge blind you like that ever again! I want you to promise me, promise me that you will stay the Nagato I love forever!"

"I give you my word…" Nagato sobbed, not believing that this is all that he had to do in order to bring her back to him. His Angel was so kind, more kind than he had imagined. "I will do anything you wish for, anything! The only thing I wish is for you to be happy! I will never do anything that will make you sad from here on, I give you my oath as a human! Just…never hold in your emotions, tell me if something is on your mind, so I can fix it and make you smile…tell me anything you think I should know…this is all I ask from you…I can never let myself ask anything more than that."

"Yes, yes!" Konan sobbed in happiness, both of them tightening the hug, getting more and more comforted. Konan began feeling hope and happiness returning to her, mental wounds slowly healing as her world turned brighter and brighter, as she felt her Nagato, against all odds, catching her right before she hit the bottom of that dark abyss, which was now beginning to fill up with bright, white light. "I will do _anything _you want!"

"Thank you, my Angel…" Nagato breathed and sobbed into her shoulder repeatedly, caressing her hair, feeling his own shoulder getting wet with her tears. "These are the least I can ask from you…thank you so much…"

Having poured down both of their hearts, both of Nagato and Konan didn't say a word, knowing that there is no need for them, there is no need for word since they could understand each other so much better through acts, and the comfortable, tight, warm hug they were both locked in delivered the same message to both of them- the significant change that they have made within those few hours, and how they will be now moving towards the light.

They were caressing each other, each of them listening to the other's breathing, to the other's heartbeat, feeling their warmth, their scent, their happiness and love…the words could go to hell right now for all they cared.

Nagato was happy, he was happy more than he had been in his entire life, tears of happiness rolling down his thin cheeks, so glad, relieved and happy to have received the forgiveness of his Angel, he was so happy about her kind, warm heart, he was happy that she forgiven him for everything he had done to her…yet knew that he will never forgive himself, he will never forgive himself for torturing his Angel like that, for hurting her ruthlessly, for making her cry and scream in agony…it will be a well-worth scar which he will have to bare for the rest of his life, and that scar was worth it. From now on, he would do anything he can to make sure his Angel will always remain happy, will always remain pure no matter what. He will kill anyone who brings pain and suffering upon her, anyone who threatens her with no exception, no matter who they are, they will die by his hands.

Konan just couldn't believe it, she could not believe that she had managed to bring back her Nagato, she couldn't believe that all these horrible years now have come to an end, she just couldn't believe it. She thought she was dreaming, because something like that now felt too good for her to be true, but no, she could feel the warmth of her Nagato's body, she could smell his scent for the first time after all these years, she missed that scent so much, more than she could describe with words…nothing the two felt right now could be described with words…

Not even Nagato's sudden growl which was filled with hatred and anger, a growl which caused Konan to perk up and remove her face from his shoulder, feeling that he had removed his from hers. She looked deeply into his glaring expression, a glare that wasn't directed towards her, a glare that wasn't directed anywhere.

She gave a thoughtful expression, a little disappointed that Nagato's second display of emotions came so quickly, and an emotion she hated to see in him so much- anger, anger was plastered on his face.

"Uchiha Madara…has entered the village…" Nagato hissed lowly, feeling Madara's chakra in his rain, recognizing that cold, dark, twisted chakra.

The former-leader of the Uchiha, the one he had now seen was manipulating him with because of his hatred, a thing that was revealed to him thanks to his Angel, who opened his eyes. That bastard was the last thing he wanted to interfere with that cherished, dream-like, beautiful moment with his Angel, his Konan.

"Nagato…" Konan muttered worryingly, realizing what his expression meant. He had finally realized Madara was manipulating him, as if Nagato's eyes were blindfolded, and Madara was the one guiding him into darkness, whispering fake directions towards the path of light while leading him deeper into darkness. Now she had managed to open his eyes, and Madara's deceiving was the second thing that was revealed to him, the first one being her crumbled personality which was now nearly healed. "I know that you realized that, I know that you realized Madara is manipulating you…here is my first request…don't follow his orders anymore, please, don't continue collaborating with him! He's using you for something, I can feel it!"

Nagato began caressing Konan's hair again, knowing that she's right, seeing that her voice was starting to fill up with anger and hatred towards the mastermind of Akatsuki. "My Angel…you are correct," He said comfortingly, his voice assuring her. He was no longer crying, his voice was so warm, overfilled with love and peacefulness towards her. The sound of his voice was so wonderful that it made Konan wanting to cry again, wanting to cry from happiness into his shoulder again, so happy that this isn't a dream after all. "I have already understood that I am being manipulated by Madara thanks to you…every fact you claim is correct. I cannot let Madara deceive me anymore, I cannot let this continue, I shall regain my place as the leader of Akatsuki, with you, my Angel, by my side, and change its reputation for the better…because that is what I had promised you…because if you think that I must take Akatsuki from Madara and become its leader…then this is what I shall do, this is what I will do if it will make you smile..."

Konan now began sniffing repeatedly, as much as she could, trying to hold back the tears which were now rolling from her eyes again, not running out apparently. Nagato then held both of her cheeks, his arms nearly shaking as he wiped away her tears before bringing out his own. "Everything is alright…" He breathed before pulling her into another warm, tight hug, hearing her cry into his shoulder again from happiness and shock. "You can cry…you can cry…I'm here, my Angel…I'm here for you."

Those words only made Konan cry harder into his shoulder blade, clutching both of his shoulders with her hands, feeling Nagato caressing her blue hair softly, brushing his fingers through it.

'_Nagato, Where are you? We must speak at once!'_

Nagato's eyes hardened upon hearing Madara's words in his head. Sometimes that telepathy technique he had performed to allow Akatsuki members to communicate with their minds really seemed like he was kicking his own face.

'_You must learn to wait, Madara! Your uninvited presence has angered me enough, do not rush me! You are my last priority now!'_

'_Very well, I understand that my uninvited and rude behavior was really unjustified…I am waiting for you and Konan in the lobby, come when you're ready, but make it quick, we have urgent things to discuss about and I do not have all day.' _

Nagato could feel Madara's presence leaving his mind, and with that, he resumed concentrating the warm hug he shared with his Angel, caressing her hair, letting her cry on his shoulder, knowing how much she had missed that comfort. "You will no longer have to cry alone…you will no longer have to hide your emotions from me…" He whispered in Konan's ear, their cheeks touching, their chests against each other, hearts pounding closer and closer. "Because I will always be here for you, my Angel, to the end of time…because I love you, my Angel…because I love you so much…"

Konan's eyes snapped open and widened heavily before Nagato removed her face from his shoulder and pressed his forehead against hers, looking deeply into her eyes, losing himself in her amber irises. Her expression was so shocked; her jaw was dropped in disbelief, tears rolling from her amber eyes, which were now horribly red-colored, having cried so much. "You heard me, my Angel, haven't you?" Nagato whispered softly, warmly, his voice filled with love, seeing Konan didn't react to his question. "I…love…you…Konan."

Konan began sniffing again, hearing her Nagato's words rocking her heart, now knowing for sure that it wasn't a dream. "I love you…too, my Nagato…" She sobbed from happiness, squeezing her eyes shut, lowering her head. "I love you…so much…"

'_Nagato, what is taking you so long?'_

Nagato growled in anger as his comforting, loving smile was switched with cold frown, feeling Madara's words again echoing through his mind. Konan perked up, opening her eyes in concern, seeing his expression.

'_Be patient Madara! I have already told you I am busy! Do not interfere!'_

Nagato could feel Madara leaving yet again, quite startled at his outburst, knowing that it was a bad idea to anger his collaborator. "I'm so sorry, my Angel…" He whispered comfortingly, the same, soft, loving smile again tugging his lips, knowing that his Angel is now mentally fragile because of the trauma she had gone through almost an hour ago. His hand rested softly on her smooth chick, not wiping away her tears, knowing that those were tears of happiness. "Madara keeps interrupting…do you want to stay here while I'm going down to the lobby to discuss with him about some urgent subjects? You don't have to…I will never again force you to do anything against your own will. You have endured enough suffering…please…just get some sleep…"

Konan shook her head, a few tears escaping her face as she did so. "No, I want to go down there with you…" She said, her voice filled with concern of some sort which was brought to Nagato's awareness. She didn't want to tell him that she could never sleep alone in this room from here on out, she attempted to do so while having her emotional breakdown, but only found herself collapsed even more.

"Is something on your mind, my Angel?" Nagato whispered comfortingly, lovingly, his voice filled with love towards her, wanting to tell him everything that is on her mind. "Is something worrying you? Please, tell me what's wrong."

Konan remembered what she had promised to Nagato, to tell him anything that is on her mind and anything she thinks that he must know. She nodded, confirming Nagato's suspicions. "I-I'm just…worried of Madara's reaction when you…when you tell him you no longer want to collaborate…" Konan muttered worryingly, looking at Nagato with concerned and loving amber eyes. "What if he won't cooperate? You know how extreme he can be…"

Nagato hugged her tightly, comforting her as he caressed her blue hair again, feeling his Angel hugging him as well. "If Madara decides to attack…then you must go as far from us as you can…" Nagato said comfortingly, a soft smile on his face, shocking Konan with his words. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you, my Angel…I won't be able to withstand you being hurt after…after _this_. If you're hurt…I swear that I will lose it…please my Angel, promise me you'll stay away if Madara decides to attack."

"I promise…" Konan whispered, feeling Nagato caressing her back, his thin, warm hands sending warm shivers through her body, making her gasp and pant. She didn't feel his touch for so long…she was so happy it wasn't a dream, because she knew she will never be able to dream something like that. "But promise me you won't exhaust yourself…I don't want you to suffer chakra exhaustions…I don't want to see you hurt as well…please promise me!"

"I give you my word, my Angel…" Nagato replied softly, warmly, caressing her hair. With that, Konan parted from the hug and slowly stood up, her amber, hope-filled eyes never parting with his. She sent her hand towards him with a soft, loving smile, the first smile that tugged her lips in eight years, a smile she could not bring up until now.

Her smile sent shivers and warm feelings through Nagato's body, his eyes deeply locked with hers, disbelieved that such a beautiful sight could exist. Her smile…her smile sent rays of light into his body, piercing everything dark in their way, healing mental scars and shattering the darkness inside him. At that moment, Nagato had found his answer, he had found how to bring true peace to the world…he will bring peace to the world by following his Angel's smile, by doing anything that would make her happy, that would make her smile, that would make her love him.

Her smile was his answer…no, _she _was his answer, she was his answer to finding peace and growing up, the answer Jiraiya had requested him to find so long ago.

Konan raised her eyebrow when Nagato looked at the floor, causing her to look to where he was looking, and her eyes widened. He was staring deeply at her wrinkled, ruined paper flower, that didn't resemble one at all. He sent his hand and aimed it at the wrinkled piece of paper, and as if by magic, the paper sheet hovered and was pulled into his hand.

"There is one thing left to do now…" Nagato said warmly, turning his look to the shocking Konan when he unfolded and unwrinkled the paper with his thin fingers so it was now back to its basic form- a white paper sheet.

Konan's eyes widened even more when Nagato's fingers began folding the paper sheet slowly, a slight fold there, a flip around the corner of the paper sheet. He had watched her making her paper flower so many times he was sure that he remembered it enough to perform it on his own.

Nagato then froze in his tracks, humming, causing Konan to smile softly again, seeing that he had forgotten what to do now. The Rinnegan wielder perked up when he saw Konan's soft, warm palms resting on the back of his hands, her feminine, delicate fingers resting on the back of his as she sat next to him, resting her head on his shoulder and looking at the folded paper sheet. "Here, we'll do it together…" She whispered lovingly into his ear, causing him to smile and look at her.

Smiling...how long has it been since he smiled? Eight years? No, it has been longer. He lost his desire to smile from the moment they formed the Akatsuki, seeing how tainted and impure the world they lived in was. Smiling...if his pure smile, if that twitch of his cheek-muscles was the simple thing that made his Angel smile so lovingly and form tears in her eyes as she folded the paper with him...if that smile made her feel the same way he felt when seeing her lips curving upwards...then he will smile for her...every single second...for the rest of his life.

And so, Konan began instructing Nagato's fingers softly with hers, whispering instructions in his ears softly, warmly, lovingly. As the two folded the paper sheet together, each of them could feel warmth growing inside him, their hearts beating in unison as they looked at each other, a soft flush appearing on both of their faces, the first time they felt that shared, warm feeling in their heads, the feeling of love, of sheer, endless love.

And soon enough, the paper sheet in both of their hands took the form of a unique, beautiful paper flower- the prettiest and most unique paper flower that was even made. It was white, beautiful, sending warmth throughout both of their bodies as Nagato's fingers softly took the paper flower and slowly rested it on Konan's hair, smiling in love and warmth.

As soon as the paper flower was resting softly on her blue, smooth hair, Konan tackled her Nagato in the tightest hug she could make, feeling him again wrapping his arms around her neck and waist, closing his eyes as their cheeks touched each other. "I love you!" Konan cried into Nagato's shoulder, clutching his red hair, tears of happiness almost rolling from her eyes again.

"I love you too, my Angel…"

Nagato parted from the hug after a few minutes and looked at Konan with that same smile. "I will remain here, my Angel…and use the Deva path's body to speak with Madara…and battle him, if it will ever arise." Nagato said, seeing how Konan's expression saddened upon him mentioning Pain, who was now slowly standing up, his eyes opening as he regained his stance.

Konan perked up and turned around instantly, seeing the Deva path's…Pain's figure. She sat on the bed and pressed herself against Nagato in fear, her completely widened eyes locked with Pain's shocked ones.

"My Angel…" Pain muttered, in a voice that was way different than Nagato's…the same voice that reminded the afraid Angel about all that torture which was brought upon her by him, slowly reopening that too-fresh, enormous wound. He slowly leaned forward and grabbed both of her cheeks, making sure that she was now staring deeply into his loving, warm eyes…Nagato's eyes. "Do not worry, it's me…it's Nagato…from now on I want you to call me Nagato when using this body, not Pain! Enough with this horrible name. I don't want to hear that word leaving your lips ever again..."

Pain then cautiously leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the trembling Angel, hugging her close to him, smiling when he felt her returning the hug. The same feeling of warmth was gone, he could no longer feel the warmth of her skin…but it was alright, he didn't need to. "That's it…you don't need to be afraid of me anymore…" He breathed in her ear, his breath cold, yet comforting, filled with love, the same love Nagato showed.

"Nagato…"

"That's right…I'm Nagato…not Pain…"

Konan nodded as she parted from the hug and stood up, looking at Pain with that same, light-bringing smile, freezing the Rinnegan wielder in his tracks. "I love you…Nagato." She said again, those same words bringing the same, warm, rocking feeling through Pain's body.

Pain slowly walked towards Konan's Akatsuki cloak, which was tossed on the floor, and picked it up. Wiping away the raindrops from it, hitting it again and again with his palm, as if he was banishing and purging the remains of despair and agony left on it. He then unbuttoned the removed cloak, noting that Konan just removed it from its collar instead of unbuttoning regularly.

He turned to her, a warm smile on his face despite the fact his skin was cold, as he spread the Akatsuki cloak to both sides, allowing Konan to turn around as he gently and softly pulled its sleeves on her arms and then proceeded to button it down.

When Konan was already dressed with her Akatsuki cloak, instead of hugging Pain, she just happily ran to Nagato and tackled him in a hug, knowing that he was the one controlling Pain, he was the one she should hug.

After a few, long seconds, Konan parted from her hug with the unconscious, sitting Nagato and looked at Pain, who already opened the door and was standing at the hallway. She ran to him, ran to her Nagato, not caring in which shape he was in, he was still her Nagato. Pain's eyes were deeply locked with her happy smile as she reached him and tackled him in a hug, so happy to have him back, surprising him that she managed to recover from her trauma so quickly, yet knowing it was him who helped her recover. "Let us go then," He said, bringing his own warm, loving smile.

Konan nodded as she wrapped her arm around Pain's shoulder, not caring she didn't feel the warmth of his body. When she touched him, it was like she was touching her Nagato. When she looked into his eyes, it was like she was looking in the warm, loving eyes of her Nagato…he was her Nagato, no matter what his physical appearance was, there was no mistaking with his eyes.

And so, the two began walking through the maze-like hallways of the tower, Pain seeing that it was as if those hallways were now filled with light, showing him the way…the various windows allowing the few sunrays peeking through the clouds to enter the building and perish the darkness.

And the light itself, together with the warm, loving escort of his Angel, was showing Pain the way...

Showing him the way towards the lobby...

Towards Madara...

* * *

And so, a new adventure begins, a story which is called- A New Path at Life.

I have made that story with a few reasons on my mind…the main reason was to revive the Pain/NagatoxKonan fanfic category, to show all authors and readers out there the true potential of Nagato and Konan, to put an end to all of those discontinued stories and inspire readers and authors alike to start writing their own Pain/NagatoxKonan stories.

The reason I refer to this story as Pain/NagatoxKonan is because in this story, Pain _is _Nagato, unlike almost every story out there where Nagato and Pain are treated as different beings. Let me make it clear- Pain is Nagato in the body of Yahiko, Nagato manipulates Pain using his piercings, which means Pain's eyes are Nagato's eyes, Pain's feelings are Nagato's feelings, and Pain's acts are Nagato's acts.

Now, the reasons which _motivated _me to start this story were many…

When I had first seen Nagato and Konan in the anime…at first, I didn't really found interest in those two…but then I heard their story, the sacrifice Nagato had made, how Yahiko sacrificed himself, how Nagato had turned to be so emotionless and affected Konan in the process…and that was one I got related to their sad history so much. The straw which almost broke my back was when I have witnessed Konan dying in the anime, by the hands of Madara, after she had lost both Yahiko _and _Nagato! It was then I realized that I must do something to fix this, to fix and fill those feelings of emptiness and sorrow inside me after relating to Nagato and Konan so much.

At first, I began searching for Pain/NagatoxKonan fanfics on , and that had only made my situation worse. I only saw sad poetries filled with despair which related to Konan's and Nagato's sadness and emotionlessness…I had seen lemons which were filled with nothing but sadness, no love, no happiness, as if they weren't making love but were just…making sex. Some of the stories were downright horrible, describing Pain as a psycho who tortures Konan, describing Konan as a smoking, sadistic bitch, describing both of them so horribly…some of them impacted me so much that I had to stop reading them before I lose it, some were holding great potential but were either discontinued or ended with the authors not realizing their potential. From emotion-filled, beautiful poems that almost made me cry, love-filled lemons which made me laugh and shiver from happiness…to torture darkfics filled with tragedy and horrors…none of them seemed like their authors had realized their potential.

But the real reason which motivated me to write this story was an argument I had with a friend and a now-fellow author…ARCEUS-Master, the famous Pokemon Author who had revived his own category- AshxLatias by writing his own, famous story- "A New Chance at Life" (you can find it in my favorite list). That story got so many authors motivated that it revived the AshxLatias category when readers and authors began writing stories in the same way ARCEUS-Master did.

At first, we had both argued about which path would be better for Nagato and Konan to walk in- to change their path and walk in the good path (which I knew would be a lot better for the both of them) or stay in the current, bad path (which had its own result in the Anime/Manga- Nagato dies, Konan is left alone and then _killed _horribly by Madara, and having her own body left in the water without even buried). As you can see by my description of the bad path, I had truly preferred for both of Nagato and Konan to walk in the good path…but ARCEUS-Master confirmed my thoughts and claimed that Nagato will not be changed so easily…now, let us take a look at what happened in this chapter which will make this story so much different than other stories in this category-

Of course, as you can see, this is a HEAVY "Fixer Fic"- a fanfiction where some moment is altered or deleted to influence the chain of events or rather a new moment is stiffed into the story by the mind off the author. As you can see, Konan was the one to change Nagato, changing the entire story as a result- she was the "Fixer Sue"…and a really fitting one- Nagato was the only person left in the world for her, and I really saw how Konan was sad deep inside of her about the emotionless change of her beloved in the Anime…I could still see those emotions of cheerfulness and compassion being held inside her willingly, wanting to follow Nagato no matter what…and so, I had brought my own solutions to trigger Nagato's change.

Following Nagato's and Konan's change, I can now say truly that a lot of things will be changed as well…I have my own, solid plot already, but like every decent author, I will be opened to suggestions and constructive critique and will even appreciate it.

You, the readers of this story, are free to voice your own thoughts and suggestions on this story, it would help me improve and hone my skills while learning where I did wrong. Of course, if some of you are angered and wish to voice your own thoughts, I will not stop you nor be mad at you, you are free to speak your mind as you see fit. Of course, reasonless flames and anger reasons will not be ignored, nor will be fought back with even more anger and flames. I will try to find out and see if I can understand your anger.

I have big plans ahead for the next chapter, which will be the one to actually put Nagato's and Konan's change into effect.

A few questions to keep you busy for the next weeks- What will Nagato decide to tell Madara? Will he even be willing to face the mastermind of Akatsuki to fulfill his promise to Konan? How would Madara react if Nagato decides to tell him that he is no longer willing to collaborate with him?

Tune in for Chapter 2, which will arrive in around a week to two weeks to a month, depends on how busy I will be with high school and more important stuff (not that there is something more important than expressing your emotions and thoughts by writing a story).

Here comes **"A New Path at Life"**!

Oh, of course, I forgot to mention- don't forget to **REVIEW** and **CRITIQUE**.


	2. Fulfilling the Promise, Nagato's Answer!

**Chapter 2: Fulfilling The Promise- Nagato's Answer!**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"_Past Speech."_

"**Zetsu's Black Half Speech."**

BEFORE YOU BEGIN READING LOOK HERE!

Ok, now that I have your attention, I proudly present the second chapter of "A New Path at Life"! I was glad to see that there are some people who decided to dedicate their time to read this fanfiction, as in my perspective, it holds the future of this category on its shoulders.

In the previous chapter we had many emotions coming in together to form the bases of this fiction, and now that this was behind us, we will continue to the more serious areas of this fictions.

I will not spoil you the details of this chapter, but all I can say that as much as there are going to be _many _emotional moments throughout the fanfiction, they will be less emotional from chapter 1, because from now on I must keep a firm plot on this story and not let the emotions ruin the fiction and replace categories like action and adventure.

Anyways, without adding anything else, I want to inform you that A New Path at Life will not be updated for some time since I am leaving for two weeks on the 15th of July, yet I want to add by saying that this fanfiction will _not _be abandoned!

I will update on my profile for any upcoming chapters from now on.

Alright I annoyed you enough. Enjoy your reading!

* * *

At the lobby of the highest tower in Amegakure, the current home of Nagato and Konan, a man wearing an orange, whirled mask was waiting impatiently for a certain Akatsuki duo, who were just coming down the stairs towards the lobby, making the mask-wearer perk up and walk towards them in irritation.

"It is about time you show up…" Madara growled in frustration, seeing that Pain was looking at him angrily, returning the attitude. Konan was at his side, looking up at him with concern, praying for everything to go smoothly. She still couldn't believe that she managed to bring back her Nagato, and if the Angel had learned something in her life, it was that when something is too good to be true, then there has got to be something wrong. "I was getting impatient…"

Pain's glare hardened, now having unlocked his emotions, it was the first time he was actually glaring at someone, the first time he felt hatred and anger flow inside him.

Hatred…anger…love…he had almost forgotten how every single emotion felt, he had almost forgotten their names and their purpose, what they symbolized, what they were named as. He began remembering every single emotion thanks to his Angel, the strongest, and first one he ever recalled was the sheer, powerful love they were now holding towards each other.

"You come here before me without a moment's notice, uninvited…but you rant at me as if I am the one to be blamed for having my hands full at that moment…" Pain growled, looking at Madara with angered eyes, something that Madara took notice too. "Have you got no shame?"

"A little cranky today, aren't we?" Madara asked jokingly, his voice not laughing, as if mocking, mocking the Rinnegan wielder, something that really upset Konan, who couldn't help but glare at Madara as well. The former leader of the Uchiha really had a knack for dark humor, something that fitted him quite good.

Madara was now facing Pain and Konan, each one examining the one before him. Konan could feel herself getting nervous. _'What if Madara really decides to attack if Nagato tells him that he no longer wishes to collaborate?' _She thought nervously, looking deeply into the hole in Madara's face, instantly looking away when his right eye tried to lock with hers. _'W-What if…what if he hurts Na-'_

Konan's thoughts were cut off when she felt felt Pain's hand caressing her shoulder slightly, causing her to glance at him, her amber eyes locking with his own. Even though his expression was still angry and cold, Konan could feel rays of warmth coming out from his face, sending warm shivers through her body. Beneath that emotionless mask, Konan knew that her Nagato was comfortingly and lovingly smiling at her, wanting to dissipate her concerns.

The Angel could always see what her Nagato hid behind his expression, a trait given to her after all those years in which she lived with a comrade who didn't show a single emotion on his face. The Angel fully learned how to read his inner emotion eventually, knowing that the emotionless, cold Nagato wasn't truly visualizing his feelings.

Yet that trait wasn't a necessary one, as Nagato's caged, deadened heart never brought up any emotion asides from hatred or anger, the two emotions which Konan was always able to identify. The fast-paced beating of her heart, pumping in her chest, making her gut clenched was the result of feeling different emotions radiating from the Rinnegan wielder…making her even more happy to know that these wonderful, heavenly emotions were directed to her- to her only.

Pain's cold, glaring expression aimed itself at Madara once again, his eyes narrowing to see Madara's dark Sharingan.

He was thinking of something.

"You are holding a fair share of making me angered…" Pain growled in irritation, angering the former leader of the Uchiha, who could now notice that something was different in his and Konan's eyes. "When you decide to come before me in the future, it would be better for the both of us if you announce your arrival beforehand."

"As if I had a choice!" Madara protested, throwing his left hand backwards in rage, angered that Pain dares to blame him for coming. Pain's glare hardened, Madara's yells toughening the atmosphere and interrupting the lobby's calm melody. "Someone needed to remind you to move and catch the Kyuubi already! I had to bother myself all the way here to remind you to do something you should've already done _weeks _ago!"

Konan's ears perked at Madara's completely rude treatment towards her Nagato, words that were never spoken towards him. Madara truly had the trait to boss them around, but now this was going too far. She will let _no one _speak like that towards her beloved Nagato…her warm, beloved Nagato. _'That bastard…' _She thought, glaring at Madara, whose glare was directed towards Pain, unnoticed of her.. _'How dare he talk to Nagato like that?'_

"Pain…I have given you enough time to get Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki." Madara growled, his right Sharingan visible from the hole in his mask, seeing that Pain glared at him with equal anger and hatred. The two weren't really friends…literally. They had despised each other and were only willing to collaborate only for Akatsuki's best interests, which were no longer relevant. Pain's ideals had changed, his eyes were opened, his eternal gratefulness for his Angel triggered his change, the change of his ideals, and thus- the change of Akatsuki's interests. "If _you _don't catch him now, that kid will eventually become a nuisance in the future! He had already got his hands on powerful ninjutsu that he used to take _Kakuzu _out. It's destructive…it's troublesome. We have got to get our hands on him before that kid gets any stronger! As he gains power, we lose more and more precious members! Sasori…Hidan…Kakuzu…we had already lost three out of nine members to those pathetic, weak Konohagakure shinobi…you will be going to capture Uzumaki Naruto…and you will be going _now_!"

Konan perked up and looked at Pain, whose eyes hardened at Madara's words. It was now, the only turning point Nagato could afford was right before his eyes, and it was a dangerous one. Konan couldn't help but let depressing, dark thought enter her mind. _'W-What if Nagato won't be strong-willed enough to turn Madara down!' _ She thought, glancing at Madara, the dead silence in the lobby creeping into her, making the Angel more and more nervous. She began doubting, doubting of her Nagato's will to please and love her, to act and do as he should've acted since eight years ago. _'What if Nagato thinks that for my own health and safety it will be better to continue collaborating with Mad-'_

"I refuse…"

Even though it was a closed building, somehow a breeze managed to brew through the lobby, Konan seeing the background turning white as her eyes widened completely in shock, her jaw dropping in disbelief at what she had just heard.

She looked at Pain, and could see the Rinnegan wielder glancing at her as well, a microscopic, soft and loving smile growing beneath his cold glare, a smile which was directed to her. She could now feel as if his hand was truly warm, as if her Nagato was the one standing next to her.

It was true- her Nagato was the one standing next to her, not Pain…and that Nagato would never let her down.

She could see Madara's Sharingan perking up slightly, the emotionally-deadened silhouette of the Uchiha disrupted by the pure disbelief at Pain's words. Even _he _was taken aback by his answer, which confirmed his suspicions.

Madara's Sharingan narrowed slightly, able to capture the slightest glimpse of Pain's expression, his eye identifying the movement of his face muscles, and eventually seeing that hidden smile which was directed to Konan.

Something had indeed changed…

The atmosphere around the enormous lobby tensed up tenfold, the dead silence still refusing to leave as Madara digested Pain's words in his mind, eventually realizing what the Rinnegan wielder had meant. "Pardon me," He chuckled, his voice suddenly turning dead-serious and dark as the silence finally broke, perking Konan from her thoughts and her fantasies about the future. "I may have misheard you…repeat that again…"

"I refuse to collaborate with you any further, Madara!" Pain repeated angrily, not intimidated by Madara's dark expression even the slightest bit.

It was covered by his ridiculous mask anyways.

Konan flashed through his mind, causing him to clench his palms into fists, knowing that this is the time, this is the time to show his Angel that he will do anything for her, that he will follow her smile, that he will follow _her _with no question. "Look…look at what we have brought upon our organization…look what _you _have brought upon _my _Akatsuki!" He claimed angrily, a soft snarl tugging his lips, causing Madara's Sharingan to narrow dangerously. "Akatsuki…Akatsuki was created to bring about peace to the Shinobi world…to the five nations-"

Pain suddenly stopped for a second and glanced at Konan, Nagato's heart suddenly missing a few beats. He did not know whether what he was doing was satisfying his Angel, yet he could not help but to bring a soft, entertained smile for a split second, observing his Angel's shocked, disbelieved expression.

She was surprised beyond any words, speechless and frozen in her tracks, her awestruck expression urging the Rinnegan wielder to go on, to show her how much she had changed him. He returned his expression towards Madara, a cold glare surfacing upon it again, locking with Madara's angered eyes. "This…where is the peace in what we are doing _now_!" He asked angrily, his expression enraged and determined, deciding to pour it all out. "Slaughtering the Jinchuuriki one after another, shaping them into a weapon of mass destruction to bring pain upon the world…is that what we have been doing all these years? Is that what turned us into S-ranked criminals? That made every single nation hunt for our heads? We have been trying to get _peace_? Bringing pain upon the world will not bring forth peace…where is the peace in that? It will only create more monsters like us who will want _vengeance_! This is no longer about peace…this is about revenge!"

Madara's eyes slightly widened, surprised at Pain's sudden confession, truly taken aback by his words. He glanced at Konan, seeing that her eyes were glued to Pain's expression, her expression shocked and disbelieved even more than his. She was disbelieved at the strength of her Nagato's new resolve…at his determination. The Angel had to admit that she would've expected this refusal to trigger a further confession…but she never prepared herself for such powerful words.

"That…that is not what Yahiko would've done…and this is not what _I _will do!"

Pain's final words have led to a long, dead silence, Madara unable to react because of the immense shock, disbelieved at what this meeting turned out to be. Madara's eyes glanced towards Konan, who was now looking at Pain with a big, happy smile, filled with a certain emotion he did not know how to identify, an emotion he never felt before.

He could see her smile reassuring Pain, backing him up, bringing a slight smile on his face for the briefest moment as well when his eyes locked with her for a second. The Rinnegan wielder then turned back his expression towards Madara, a cold glare locking with his mask yet again, as if the smile which was plastered on it a moment ago was plunged away from existence.

The Rinnegan wielder could not let his expression wither…not when facing Madara.

"Nagato…" Madara deadpanned angrily, the atmosphere around the lobby tensing at the tone of his words, which were filled with hatred and the intention to kill. His words sent freezing chills down Konan's body, putting slight fear into her eyes when she realized the inevitable outcome of this discussion.

Madara's Sharingan once again faded in from the hole in his mask, glowing, shimmering with rage and darkness, knowing what have caused this sudden, incredible change in the Rinnegan wielder's eyes, yet not bothering to care.

"You dare betray me?"

"I only now realize that I was never with you…" Pain deadpanned back, glaring at Madara, the enraged Sharingan locking itself with the cold, determined Rinnegan, tensing the atmosphere around the lobby to a point in which Konan couldn't help but to shiver visibly, realizing that there is a chance that this building will become the battlefield between the two, strongest shinobi in the five nations. "Truth is…I have always detested you, Madara. Your strength by my side was the only thing in you which was worthy of my attention. While I was blinded, I thought that bringing pain and hatred upon the shinobi world will bring about peace, yet I knew that in order to accomplish that I will have to get my hands on the Bijuu. I had known for long that you were planning something with the Bijuu as well, and thus decided to form a temporary alliance with you, knowing that your knowledge and your strength will assist me further in my goal. I nevertheless planned to exterminate you when the time comes in which each of us will desire the Bijuu weapon to realize his own ambition…however…things have changed. I no longer desire the Bijuu weapon…my eyes have been opened. I no longer need that fake, pathetic peace which will only bring forth pain…I no longer need you by my side as well, Madara."

Madara chuckled darkly at Pain's words, his right eye suddenly locking itself with Konan's expression, perking up the Angel and causing her own eyes to widen. The former leader of the Uchiha chuckled again, louder this time, amused. "I see…I have known of your plans for a long time…yet I never thought that this day would come." He muttered darkly, his eyes penetrating into Konan's soul, causing her body to tremble slightly. She was overwhelmed with incredible, negative emotions- desires to kill, the unjustified hatred and anger, which sent cold caresses around her heart, forcing it back.

"It was all in your body language- the way you were always the one to be silent and speechless in Akatsuki's gathers…always the one to comply and cooperate without protesting…without having a personal opinion on anything. I have known that the day would come when your delicate heart will not be able to withstand the mental toll put on it and would just shatter. You have my congratulations…but I can tell it wasn't pretty…" Madara said darkly, his voice amused and filled with dark happiness, which was molded with hatred. Konan's terrified eyes could see the Sharingan narrowing, a smirk growing beneath Konan's mask. "I can tell it wasn't pretty to try and change the monster you childhood friend has become…you went through hell…didn't you, Konan my dear?"

Pain's eyes widened in rage, the images of Konan's mental breakdown digging into his heart, her screams and wails filling his ears as he took a step forward, snarling at Madara. He removed the hand which was wrapped around Konan's shoulder and put it infront of her in a protective position. "Leave _my Angel _out of this!" He raged, shocking both of Konan and Madara at his outburst, his Rinnegan eyes enraged beyond comprehension. Madara smirked slightly, his claims confirmed. "Let her name leave your lips again and I give you my word you will not leave here alive!"

"Nagato…" Konan said worryingly as she grabbed his wrist tightly, perking up the Rinnegan wielder. Pain instantly looked at her from over his shoulder, seeing her sad, worried expression. His anger only terrorized his Angel further, forcing the Rinnegan wielder to calm down and step backwards, taking his place at her side.

Madara was now laughing mockingly, darkly, seeing how Konan was able to calm down the enraged Rinnegan wielder with her expression only. He mocked the inhuman bond those two had, he knew that having beloved ones will only be a burden and an obstacle in the future- and he was right. His dark laugh echoed through the lobby, through the tower, through Konan's ears. "You did a really good job there…" Madara laughed, looking at Konan with a twisted Sharingan as he pointed at Pain, tensing both of them up. "For you to be able to flip him upside down like that and bring him back…it must've taken a lot of sheer willpower and foolishness not to break down in the process. It seems my plans didn't go as far as I had expected…but I predicted the outcome of such a thing. I will be forced to do what I have planned to do from the very beginning…"

Madara locked his eyes with Pain, his cold Sharingan viciously battling with his determined, angered Rinnegan.

"I will kill you and your Angel right here…and after I defeated you…I will take your eyes, Nagato- the legendary Rinnegan will be mine!"

Pain's eyes hardened, narrowing into another cold glare as Konan's eyes widened completely in awe, anger and shock. She was disbelieved at Madara's words, eventually causing her expression to turn into a glare as well, digesting the Uchiha's intentions.

Nevertheless, Madara did not bother himself to notice Konan's expression, not even when it slowly turned into a snarl. Konan had never felt such anger before, not even before Yahiko died- at the time she was still with Yahiko and Nagato in the original Akatsuki, she was happier and more emotional, yet never before was she forced to radiate an emotion such as anger. She was mostly concerned and frustrated every time Nagato and Yahiko returned from their operations with many injuries, knowing that she is going to have a difficult time treating them.

Konan could feel that this feeling of anger was quite familiar- it was the anger which was directed towards the emotionless monster known as Pain, earlier this day, the one the Angel were now ashamed to call Nagato, seeing how the two were worlds apart from one another. _'M-Madara was planning on taking Nagato's Rinnegan?' _Konan exclaimed mentally, disbelieved. Her snarl deepened, but was soon enough calmed down by Pain, who glanced at her warmly, his loving eyes melting through her anger, turning it into a concerned, disbelieved expression.

"But still…" Madara continued devilishly, an evil grin growing beneath his mask as his voice perked up both Pain and Konan from their thoughts, causing both of them to glare at him angrily. "Killing you two at such a point will be such shame…we are so close to completing our ambition. Nagato, you have so much left to do for me…you can serve by my side as the ruler of the world only if you once again abandon your pointless excuse for hope. But…I guess that it was inevitable, you would've betrayed me sooner or later, and the outcome will be the same. After I kill both of you and take the legendary Rinnegan from your sockets, Nagato, _nothing _will stand in my way to world domination! The two of you are nothing but my pawns, and now I will do what I should've done a long time ago."

Konan stepped forward angrily, snarling at the Uchiha, her amber eyes filled with rage at his humiliating treatment towards Nagato. This time, Madara bothered to look at her, perking up when her feminine, soft hands clenched into powerful fists.

She is not going to let _anyone _talk about her Nagato as a _pawn_!

"We were never your pawns!" Konan raged, causing Madara's figure to tense up and his eyes to perk. Pain's eyes slightly widened as well, instantly looking at the angered Angel. He knew that with his last words, the Uchiha hit a sensitive spot in Konan's heart. "We acted on our own wills and ideals! You never controlled us! We had our own dreams, our own ambitions, and we acted in order to realize them!"

A dark smirk grew beneath Madara's mask, chuckling darkly. Pain perked up in shock at Konan's outburst, her words now sane and firm- she was acting on her own choice, she wasn't going to let her Nagato be humiliated like that.

Yet the Uchiha knew that he hit a sensitive, soft spot in the back of Konan's mind, and knew that this was the time to utilize one of his best abilities into play- mind games.

"But…can you say the same for Nagato as well?" Madara chuckled mockingly, his intrigued Sharingan narrowing into a softer smirk, knowing that he got Konan right where he want her. "Just until a few days ago…you were both in the palms of my hands. I used Nagato's anger and hatred to manipulate him to the point where he was nothing but a _puppet_! I was plunging both of you into darkness, and you were too weak and scared to do anything about it! Now you find the strength to open his eyes, and you manage to change everything, and now you speak those opinions who were always locked down inside your heart, talking as if you're some kind of a hero! So you saved me the precious time of killing the both of you later, and even allowed me to take the legendary Rinnegan earlier…aside from that…nothing good will come out of _anything _you did! You will die together with Nagato here, knowing that the hell you went through to open his eyes was all in vain!"

That was when the Uchiha crossed the line in Konan's terms. The Angel's snarl grew enraged, to the point her own body was trembling with anger. Perhaps her emotional collapse was affecting her current behavior. Perhaps the lack of any shows of anger throughout eight years caused it to build up inside her as well, and now she was simply letting it pour out.

"YOU BAST-"

Pain instantly held his forelimb in Konan's path when she attempted to charge at Madara, noting how her skin and her Akatsuki cloak both cracked slightly, ready to battle. Konan perked up with disbelief, her widened eyes locking themselves with her Nagato's concerned, warm Rinnegan. Her rage instantly dissipated, her own expression mimicking Nagato's, his expression communicating with hers.

"My Angel…" Nagato muttered worryingly, his voice soft, watching Konan's expression turning soft and warm, gratefulness surfacing on her eyes. She closed her amber irises and nodded, her fists softening and ceasing as she took a step backwards, resuming her place by his side.

'_Nagato…you are right.' _Konan thought, her warm smile looking at the side of Pain's head, who was directed towards Madara. Seeing that his attempts failed, Madara's Sharingan locked in on Pain's eyes once again. He was playing with her, he knew that she had to go through an emotional crumble to bring back her Nagato and was only using her fragile, recovering heart for his own advantage.

He attempted to play with her mind, knowing that putting hatred and despair inside her heart will cause her resolve and her mind to slowly wither with a storm of emotions. Yet thanks to her Nagato, he failed, and Konan now knew that she had to dissipate any personal opinion she had through the further discussion, knowing that the least she could do was to stand at her Nagato's side while he's thinking out a strategy against Madara.

Yet the Angel already knew that while he was talking, the Uchiha was already planning the battle layout as well.

Madara closed his eyes after a long observation on both Pain and Konan, sighing mentally, deep in thoughts of a good strategy that will make him last on this upcoming battle with minimal bloodshed. _'Nagato is the Rinnegan wielder…and his knowledge of it is deep and professional. Defeating him when he's at full strength is nearly impossible.' _He noted, his eyes narrowing as it locked itself with Konan's expression, seeing that she was constantly glaring at him firmly, even though she was glancing at Pain with a concerned expression every few seconds. _'But when he's paired up with Konan by his side…I have no chance to survive. I have seen those two in action together, even though Nagato's emotionlessness was preventing the mental communication between them, they were still managing to pull off deadly combinations, their powers creating the best offense and the best defense…and not to mention that inhuman trait they both share- knowing what the other is thinking…almost like telepathy. I cannot battle the both of them when they're together, but perhaps I will be able to find a way to separate those two and battle Pain alone without Konan interfering my plans…and then maybe I will have a chance to defeat him. Yes…but how?'_

Madara's Sharingan suddenly widened in disbelief, the realization hitting his head, causing an evil smirk to slowly grow beneath his mask, knowing what needed to be done. Pain perked up slightly, catching the change in Madara's expression, which brought forth the change in the entire atmosphere of the lobby.

They both have their own strategies…the battle is inevitable.

"Zetsu, come here at once!"

Konan's eyes widened and Pain's eyes hardened as Madara's most loyal subordinate- Zetsu, emerged from the ground next to his superior after a few seconds, should out many flytrap extensions which were entwined with each other, forming some kind of a vicious jaw. The flytrap extensions then parted from each other to slightly reveal the spy's head peeking out from the connection between them.

"Have you called, Tobi?" Zetsu's white half asked, his voice calm and noble. Zetsu's role was to spy on the behalf of the Akatsuki, and was utilizing one of his special traits- Zetsu was able to emerge himself with any surface and travel great distances, and in addition, he was able to remain undetected, making him the ideal candidate for such dangerous operations. Zetsu was also the most infamous member of the Akatsuki, being known as the one who devours and digests the corpses of fallen members, keeping their secrets and the organization's secrets locked in. The Akatsuki Spy also had a severe, inhuman schizophrenic disorder which resulted in him developing two identities, completely different from each other- like the colors black and white.

"Yes, Zetsu." Madara replied, refraining from his cautious stance into a more relaxed, calmed position. His eyes kept observing Konan, causing her to tense up. "Listen…if you may, I need you to take on Konan here for me."

Konan's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, realizing that the battle really is about to begin. She never had the time to process Madara's words as Pain's arm instantly wrapped itself around her shoulders and pulled her body against his tightly. He wasn't going to let any of them touch his Angel, and she knew that while locking her concerned, nervous eyes with the side of his expression, seeing that he was still looking at Madara and Zetsu, observing both of them.

Konan's eyes locked with Zetsu's for the briefest moment, and the Angel instantly brought up a disgusted, uncomfortable expression, seeing him licking his own lips, locking his eyes with her own, saliva rolling down from his long tongue. "Taking on Konan?" Zetsu's white half asked curiously, looking at Madara with suspicious eyes. "Why?"

"Well…apparently the worst has finally happened…" Madara answered disappointingly, his voice frustrated, glancing at Pain from the hole in his mask, seeing that there was no way the Rinnegan wielder is going to give Konan to them. "Pain finally had his eyes opened and is now longer interested in cooperating with me. Thus, he is no longer a use to me and he intends to stop me in this room. That is why I must dispose him and take his Rinnegan to cover for his value…but with Konan on his side, it will be nearly impossible to defeat him. That is why I need you to separate Konan from Pain so we will be able to battle each other with no interference."

"Well, won't it just be a better idea if you just take out Konan as fast as you can while I'm holding off Leader-sama?" Zetsu's white half asked politely, looking at Madara. Konan's eyes were now widened in slight terror, the simple thought of taking on Madara putting fear in her heart. Pain pressed her against his body further, reinforcing her mind, causing the Angel to look at him once again.

"**Are you damn stupid?" **Zetsu's black half suddenly exclaimed, his voice deep and feral, causing Zetsu's white half to perk up in surprise. "Why? What did I-"

"**Just shut the hell up! Do you want to battle Leader-sama? Be my guest! But I'm not staying to die with you!"**

"Nagato…" Konan whispered worryingly, her voice slightly afraid, seeing Madara and Zetsu were now looking at both of them, ready for their reaction. What they will do will decide how this battle goes, and it was up to her to prevent anything from being a burden on her Nagato.

Pain looked at her, knowing that she was concerned. His warm, loving eyes melted down her fear as his hand caressed her shoulder, a soft smile growing on his face when he saw Konan's expression softening. He wasn't going to let any of them touch her.

"Please…Nagato…let me take on Zetsu."

Pain perked up in shock, his eyes widening in surprise and disbelief at Konan's request. He was quick to reply, his expression turning disappointed and apologetic. "My Angel…no, I cannot allow you to battle. You're still recovering from the mental trauma you had an hour ago! You're not fit to battle!" He protested frantically, his voice greatly concerned, holding both of her shoulders so that they were fully facing each other. His eyes were locked with hers in what seemed like an endless gaze filled with so many emotions. They were slowly sinking into each other eyes, Pain's worried Rinnegan only making Konan feel remorseful. "I…I will never forgive myself if something happens to you!"

Konan smiled comfortingly, lovingly, her warm smile sending glowing shivers down Nagato's body up in the summit of the tower. She was so happy and touched because of the great show of concern and love from her Nagato, something she wasn't used to. "Nagato…you can't take on both of Madara and Zetsu." She claimed warmly, her palms finding their place on Pain's shoulder-blades. "I-I won't let you! You won't be able to protect me and to battle against both of them at the same time! You will just overexert yourself like you always do and start experiencing chakra exhaustions!"

"Yes, my Angel…but I-"

"Nagato…please," Konan interrupted pleadingly, looking at Pain with the same smile he showed her since his change- radiating with warmth, comfort, softness and love, filling the Rinnegan wielder with assurance and peacefulness, sending rays of light into his heart and yellow glows down his eyes. It was the smile Nagato needed to follow, the same smile she smiled when showing him her revived paper flower, the same smile she smiled when folding it together with him. "Let me take Zetsu off your shoulders. I'll be fine, you know that I'm strong! I'm capable of taking him on…please Nagato."

Pain adverted his gaze from Konan, tearing his Rinnegan from her amber eyes, viciously fighting with his own conscience. He saw Madara and Zetsu both eying them, waiting for the right moment to start the battle. As darkened and evil as Madara was, he will not attack him and Konan while they're both arranging their conflicts- he was the one to enjoy fair, tough battles.

Pain looked back at Konan, his remorseful smile growing, knowing that he will eventually come to regret this decision. His arms wrapped themselves around Konan's shoulders and waist, causing the Angel's eyes to widen in disbelief and shock. He was hugging her…her Nagato was truly hugging her once again, confirming her thoughts about his change- the hug was cold, yet was filled with the warmth of endless love and tight comfort. "I'll cancel the rain and put the villagers under a genjutsu so you will be able to battle without interference, my Angel." Pain started, burying his chin in her shoulder, his left hand folding itself from her shoulders to caress her hair, comforting her as she buried her head in his shoulder, her own trembling slightly. "If you feel exhausted, if you are in any kind of a disadvantage…come back immediately. I'll take both of them on. I just want you to stay safe…promise me."

"I promise…Nagato…" Konan sobbed, wrapping her arms around his waist tightly, her tears of happiness soaking into Pain's Akatsuki cloak, overwhelmed by his love and his concern towards her, overwhelmed by the comfort and peace his hug brought upon her.

She removed her head from Pain's shoulder, causing him to do the same. The Rinnegan wielder gazed into her smile, bringing up his own as he watched her tears standing in the corner of her eyes, which were now sparkling with love and happiness. "Go now…" Pain whispered, his mouth an inch away from hers, causing Konan's heart to beat erratically in her chest, her gut clenching and her body becoming numb. Her eyes slightly widened when Pain's arms removed themselves from her body, bringing forth an endless gap into her heart as the Rinnegan wielder took a step backwards, taking his distance from his Angel.

He wasn't going to put such an emotional toll on her…not now…not with this body, the body which brought so much pain upon her.

Konan then walked forward and stood infront of Pain, her back facing to him, looking back at her love with a lingering, loving smile, which Pain gladly returned. Having spoken their last words, Konan looked at Zetsu as she replaced her smile with a cold, determined glare. Her feet slowly hovered from the ground, her body elegantly mixing with the air as it cracked slightly. She did not need her angelic form to fly, yet she was now dependent of it more than ever- this form reminded her that she is Nagato's Angel.

Konan then gazed at the exit from the lobby which was behind Madara and Zetsu, the one leading to the stoned bridge where it all began…where her greatest, only dream was fulfilled- where she got back her beloved Nagato.

And without saying a word, the Angel took flight, bypassing both Madara and Zetsu with inhuman speed, the recoil of the momentum echoing through the lobby. Zetsu's eyes widened as he turned around, seeing that she was already flying through the skies of Amegakure. **"Our dinner is escaping!" **Zetsu's black half raged, causing the white half to tense up with a pained expression. **"Chase her you idiot!"**

"Alright, alright!" Zetsu's white half protested, his body slowly submerging into the lobby's floor. "Just don't be so bossy!"

With his words, Zetsu fully submerged into the ground, leaving the lobby as well with great speed, almost matching Konan's as he headed after the Angel.

All Pain could do was to gaze at the exit from the lobby, to Konan's direction, a concerned expression growing on his face. _'Wherever you are…I beg of you…' _He thought, closing his eyes and ramming his palms together, concentrating as he canceled the rain and put the entire village under a genjutsu at the same time. Yet the Rinnegan wielder did something else- something he never thought he would do. _'Kami…Yahiko…please keep Konan safe.'_

Another breeze brew through the lobby, the dead silence left by both Konan's and Zetsu's departures leaving Pain and Madara alone, allowing them to have a more personal conversation.

"Nagato…" Madara growled in irritation, his voice frustrated as his expression beneath his mask turned into a snarl, unable to accept what is happening currently- that he is about to battle his strongest comrade, one of his greatest assets. He unwillingly took his fighting stance, his glare locking itself with the Rinnegan wielder's serious, cold frown. "Why, Nagato? Why have you decided to betray me?"

Pain glared at Madara, being cut off from his prayers as he took his fighting stance as well, folding his left forelimb and holding it infront of him. The two glared at each other, knowing that the only time to have one final discussion is now, and will soon be over. "I was never with you…you were only manipulating the hatred and anger inside of me to get your desires." Pain replied coldly, his voice filled with hatred towards the Uchiha, causing Madara to perk up. "I wasn't myself…I was blinded…and I failed to see so many things which happened around me- I brought pain upon my Angel, I plunged Akatsuki into darkness, and lost my humanity…but now…Konan opened my eyes, and in order to repay the eternal debt I owe her, I must do anything I can to make her happy, to see her smiling."

A soft, loving smile peeked beneath his glare, the Rinnegan wielder seeing Konan smiling in his mind, her eyes closed innocently and her head tilted to the side, sending warm shivers down Nagato's body.

"And in order to do that…I must first become the Nagato she loves. And to do that, I must return to my own ideals, to become myself, and to plunge this horrible monster known as Pain into oblivion, so maybe one day she will forgive me for everything I did to her…and I will be able to call myself a human…and see her smiling at me without feeling any kind of remorse."

Madara's eyes narrowed with a growl, disbelieved at Pain's idiotic sayings. He began chuckling, disgusted by Pain's extended show of emotions, seeing now that it's unfitted to him. "That's it?" He exclaimed jokingly, smirking, hardening Pain's glare. "For a single smile…you gave up _our_ ambition, _our_ ideals, _our_ _peace_ for a single _smile_? Can that smile be compared to peace in value? Bringing justice upon the shinobi world can be compared to a pathetic _smile_?"

Pain's snarled in rage, angered at Madara's words as he took a step forward. "No!" He yelled, swinging his right arm forward, his Rinnegan cold and unforgiving. The memories of his childhood with Konan began coming back to him once again, flooding his heart. There was never _we _in this organization, it was simply Madara's ideals which manipulated him. "My Angel is above everything in this world! Her smile cannot be compared with _anything_! Don't you dare putting your fake, corrupted peace near my Angel's smile! Because your peace is _nothing _compared to mine!"

"I see…so this is how it must be…" Madara muttered darkly, refraining from his fighting stance as he spread both of his arms to the sides, his expression proud and satisfied. "So be it. I shall kill you and take away your Rinnegan, and so even your corpse will never be able to see that pathetic smile realized, not even when the both of you reunite in the afterlife! I thought you won't let your emotions affect your ideals…but I guess I was wrong- you are nothing but an innocent puppet, easily influenced by mortal interests! Giving you the Rinnegan was a mistake…so I must claim it as mine once again!"

Pain's eyes narrowed in anger, recalling his Angel's outburst about emotions- how they made him superior to the emotionless monster known as Pain, how they caused her to fall in love with him…he will not let Madara's mind game make his resolve wither. "A monster like you, who gave up all he had for the desire of revenge…cannot possibly mock me for being influenced by emotions!" Pain retorted, perking up Madara, who heard the irony and mock in his voice. The Uchiha's eyes narrowed angrily. "The Rinnegan belongs to me, because it cannot be possibly belong to a monster like you!"

At Pain's last words, Madara chuckled, twistingly smirking under his mask as his eye gazed at Pain. "That is where you are mistaking, Nagato." He announced devilishly, as if he was going to reveal a secret, to make a claim which will most likely tear apart the lobby. "_I _was the one who gave you the Rinnegan! Everything you have been going through was _my _doing! _I _killed your parents! _I _brought Konan to save you! _I _took you to Yahiko…and _I _brought upon his death as well! Your meeting with the three legendary Sannin was _my _doing! And Akatsuki is _my _organization! Nagato…your life…your friends…your family…your ideals…they are all _mine_! I was the one manipulating your childhood to its very core! Everything you went through...it was all _my _doings!"

Pain chuckled darkly, his smirk twisting into a vicious snarl as he began walking towards Madara in a slow pace. Madara's eyes narrowed, seeing that the time for talk is over as he began doing the same. "No…" Pain deadpanned, his eyes locked with Madara as his first meeting with Konan flashed through his mind, together with the rest of my childhood. "You weren't the one who killed my parents, those were Konoha's shinobi! You weren't the one who brought me to Jiraiya-sensei, it was Yahiko! You weren't the one who formed the organization, we were the ones who created it! You weren't the one who brought me to Yahiko…it was _my Angel_! And you weren't the one who brought me my Angel…it was _Kami_! Someone as inferior as you couldn't have been behind it all! These doings were caused by humans far greater than you! My meeting with my Angel…the death of my parents…the death of Yahiko…they were all brought upon me so I can realize the true value of my world! The true value of my power! They brought upon me both pain and happiness…they caused me to realize the value of my Angel's smile! They reinforced my resolve! They gave me _my eyes_!"

Both of Pain and Madara were now speeding up their pace, considerably quite close to each other as they resumed approaching. "The power of the Rinnegan flourished inside me by everything that has happened!" Pain countered angrily, picturing Konan, Yahiko and Jiraiya in his mind. "My pain strengthened my resolve…and my happiness strengthened my power! These two together gave me the Rinnegan! And my Rinnegan was given to me for one, single purpose…"

The two leaders then charged at each other, Pain extending a sharp chakra blade from his right sleeve, holding it firmly in his right hand as he watched Madara bringing out a strange pair of chains from his sleeves.

"My Rinnegan…was given to me in order to bring peace…PEACE UPON THE WORLD AND UPON MY ANGEL!"

Both of Madara and Pain then clashed against each other, Madara stretching the chains as they were forced against Pain's chakra blade, sending a vicious shockwave through the lobby from the immense amount of strength released by both sides.

And Madara's eyes widened when he faced Pain's determined, vicious snarl, his eyes powerful, shimmering with his sole resolve, the one which just began surfacing.

"And a monster like you…who wants to prevent me from seeing my Angel smile…MUST DIE!"

* * *

And so ends the second chapter of A New Path at Life with a most remarkable cliffhanger. I hope you all prepared yourself for what's coming next because the battle of Pain and Madara will be continued in **Chapter 3- The Battle for Peace!**

Stay tuned, as just around July the 15th I will return and shortly after post Chapter 3.

I will see you all by then.

Oh! I almost forgot! Don't forget to **REVIEW **and **CRITIQUE**. I have been getting some reviews, but not all of them were in the exact same level of a **CRITISM**, even though they were appreciated just as much.


	3. The Battle for Peace!

**Chapter 3: The Battle for Peace!**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Zetsu's Black Half."**

"_Past Speech."_

Before beginning this chapter, I want to personally apologize for the enormous delay in updating schedule. As most of you know, I was away for two weeks and I have just returned a while ago.

And I want to make it up to you by posting this rather _amazing _chapter, which will be full of thrilling, blood-pumping, electrifying action!

As most of you expected, this chapter will involve the first part of the enormous battle, which will be the battle that begins ANPAL.

For a certain Reviewer who was wondering when this story will start affecting the Canon, I can already say it already had. The scene where Madara met Pain and Konan was an altered version of the scene in the Anime in which he revealed himself to be Madara.

I did that because I wanted to show you that it's actually changing the Canon itself, and also, as I have already said, Pain's and Konan's change will affect the rest of the Canon to a great extent.

So, as I was already telling you at the beginning of this page, this chapter will be different, filled with action.

Pain will be battling Madara and at the same time Konan will be battling Zetsu, it will be 2 battles happening at the same time.

So, get your widened, amazed eyes ready because without a further note, you are free to roll down the page with your cursor!

* * *

Rather far from the highest tower in the village, down at Amegakure's streets where most of the villagers were, Konan could be seen descending on one of the highest rooftops slowly, her feet almost barely touching the floor in elegance, feminine stance. _'This should be far enough from Nagato…' _She thought sadly, looking at the tower where Pain and Madara were fighting, still able to hear the power and sound of their attacks and clashes, her eyes longing to see her Nagato's eyes again even though barely a few minutes passed.

The rain had stopped, and on her way here, Konan could see that every single villager she encountered was sleeping heavily, as if they were dead, but the blue skies and sun were still hidden by the grey, deep rainclouds.

Konan perked up when Zetsu's body emerged from the floor at the opposite side of the rooftop, facing her, a glare on his face.

There was a long silence, a breeze brewing through Amegakure, fluttering the two's cloaks with it as they glared at each other, each one examining his opponent deeply, daring the other to make the first move which will trigger the beginning of the battle.

The silence was finally broken when Zetsu's black half chuckled darkly. **"I can't believe you would've get yourself this far from Leader-sama…he was the only one who could keep you alive against us!" **He teased, wanting to taunt the paper Angel into forming the first move. "Remember, Tobi told us that after we take her out, we must make sure to bring her back to the tower alive so Leader-sama would see what he had done, so we need to keep her alive. Forgive us, Konan, but we must do as Tobi says…we will not show any kind of mercy on you."

Konan shook her head and glared at the Cannibal, showing him that she will not fall into his tempting hands. "You do not need to apologize…after all, you are serving under Madara. We are enemies…" She replied reasonably, her voice emotionless and cold. Zetsu's white half was always a lot more apologetic than his black half, making her quite sorry for having to battle against them. But they were who they were- Madara's mere pawns who were ordered to kill her. "I will not show any mercy either."

Zetsu's black half laughed darkly, his laugh echoing through the streets of Amegakure. **"You think you can take us on!" **He mocked, attempting to anger Konan once again. Konan just stood there, her glare locked on Zetsu's eyes. **"You will lose before you have the chance to cry for Leader-sama's help!"**

"Don't talk nonsense…" Konan muttered emotionlessly, her body hovering above ground slightly, a soft breeze brewing through her cloak. Her legs began cracking, and soon after were divided into countless of paper sheets together with the lower part of her Akatsuki cloak. The paper sheets buzzed all over angrily, an enormous amount of them forming themselves into the form of two, graceful angelic wings on her back. Her face and her hair cracked slightly as well. "You're full of it."

"**Bring it on, bitch!" **Zetsu's half part yelled, seeing Konan's form shifting as a call for a battle. Soon after, a few figures emerged from the ground, their forms resembling Zetsu's. Konan had known about Zetsu's ability to create special, extremely durable clones of himself, who wouldn't disappear when being hit. The clones instantly charged at her, each of them grinning, startling Zetsu's white half. "Hey, hey, don't-"

Before the frantic white Zetsu got the chance of finishing his sentence, Konan's eyes narrowed as she aimed both of her angelic wings and fired out countless of paper arrows from their tips. The arrows charged towards the clones, widening black Zetsu's eyes as they completely pierced through them without losing any bit of their momentum, like a hot kunai piercing through butter.

The arrows were now flying towards Zetsu himself with inhuman speed. "You're an idiot!" White Zetsu yelled at black Zetsu as the two merged their body with the floor as quick as possible. The dove downwards, causing the paper arrows to fly almost an inch above them, cutting a single hair from the cannibal's head as they continued flying straight forwards, leaving behind a whistling sound of air being pierced.

"**Shit!"** Black Zetsu yelled in frustration, amazed by Konan's unexpected attack as the two emerged back from the roof into a standing position. His widened eyes locked themselves with Konan's cold glare, yet they didn't lose the slight desire to kill.

"You have underestimated me…you attacked recklessly while bringing your guard down, unaware of your opponent's abilities." Konan replied bluntly as many paper sheets began climbing down her hands from both of her sleeves, taking the shape of two, long, sharp paper blades, resembling the one she used to fight Pain with. "I am a member of the original Akatsuki. I have created Akatsuki alongside Yahiko and Nagato…I am more than capable of taking you on and killing you. However, there is another reason for which I wanted to battle you. Since you have joined the Akatsuki, under Madara's command, you have been devouring the bodies of our fallen comrades instead of letting us give them the respect they deserve by burying them. I find that disgraceful…disgusting!"

Black Zetsu chuckled devilishly again, amused at Konan's statement. White Zetsu just sighed in disappointment. "We don't believe in the religion of burials…" He pointed out politely before more of Zetsu's clones emerged from the ground. **"We prefer eating the bodies of the fallen members…in doing that, we both satisfy our hunger and keep the corpses from being discovered and researched…we are doing it for the sake of the organization! You should be grateful for our aid!"**

Konan's glare hardened as Zetsu's clones charged at her once again, the cannibal himself not intending to give her any minute to rest. Konan waited for the clones to close in on her before dancing an elegant, flexible dance, viciously swinging down her razor-sharp paper blades with amazing speed and relative ease. It wasn't long before all the clones' bodies were split apart, leaving a polished, amazing cut in them. "That is why I have never liked you…you sick liar." Konan muttered, her glare locked with the amazed cannibal, who was astonished by her strength. "You were never doing it for the organization…you were doing it for your own good! To satisfy your twisted, hideous hunger! You're an abomination, and I can't even think how you can find that cruelty to devour the bodies of the fallen. Nevertheless, I am going to change that! After I kill you, we will be burying every single comrade who falls in a battle from here on onwards!"

With her final words said, Konan flapped her paper wings with incredible force, charging at the cannibal and ending up an inch away from him before he managed to notice. Konan then swung forth her right paper blade, intending to end Zetsu's existence and purify the organization, but was surprised when the frantic Zetsu brought forth more of his clones to stand infront of him and pile up.

Konan narrowed her eyes as the paper blade pierced every single clone, showing no difficulty in cutting through their flesh as if it was thin air. Konan perked up when she felt the lack of flesh behind the clones, realizing that Zetsu must've submerged back into the ground, knowing that the pathetic shield he used would be useless.

'_Damn…I almost had him!' _Konan thought, looking all over the rooftop in search of her opponent. Konan had no time to react when suddenly one of Zetsu's clones, which was piled up on the rest of the clones' bodies, charged at her with a maniacal grin. That clone had no pierce marks on his body, meaning that it must've been a new clone that Zetsu sent out to pile up on the others in order to camouflage. The clone managed to grab her paper blade, not caring that his hand was sliced into pieces by the incredible sharpness of the weapon. It was surprising that aside from the tip, the rest of Konan's paper blade was circular, resembling a spike, yet the rest of the blade was sharp like the tip itself.

Konan's eyes widened when another pile of dead clones, which wasn't there before, turned into a charging wave of Zetsus, and in an instant, they were all brought down by Konan, who swiftly divided herself into countless of paper sheets which scattered all over the area.

Zetsu's trick didn't shock her, she mentally readied herself for _anything _in that battle.

The countless paper sheets scattered around the rooftop suddenly began buzzing to every single direction, slicing every clone in their paths to pieces with incredible ease, causing them to fall on the floor, lifeless.

The area was now only a deserted rooftop filled with the dead bodies of Zetsu's clones, countless of pure-white paper sheets hovering in the wind around them. A few seconds passed, and the paper sheets floated to the other side of the rooftop, pilling up on one another to form Konan's angelic form.

The Angel looked emotionlessly at the other side of the rooftop, which was greeted by Zetsu, who emerged up from the floor, reinforced by another enormous wave of his clones, shocking Konan. **"We can go like that all day…we got more clones than you can imagine." **Black Zetsu joked twistingly, seeing the clones charging at Konan once again. Zetsu's white half smirked, quite enjoying the sight. "Let's see just how long _you _can last."

'_There is no end to his clones!' _Konan thought frustratingly as she again began cutting and piercing the charging clones with uttermost swift and elegance, her paper blades cutting through each one. The clones weren't even able to lay a finger on her before they were sliced in half, and for a good reason. She learned to fight from the best of the best- Nagato. A few nights after Jiraiya discovered Nagato's Rinnegan he began disappearing with him in the middle of the night, and Konan's curiosity eventually took over her.

Jiraiya and Nagato would get out of the house in the middle of the night, not knowing how much of a light sleeper Konan was at the time. It was only then when Konan finally managed to follow them and reach a certain cave, where she spotted Jiraiya brutally battling Nagato, as if it was a battle to the death.

What was even more shocking was that they seemed to be on even ground, and the Angel was completely surprised to see that Nagato even had the upper hand most of the battle. His movements were elegant and vicious, as if he was dancing to the melody of Jiraiya's blows.

She resumed spying on the two in the following week, and was eventually caught when she unwillingly interrupted one of their battles, when Jiraiya was seemingly about to defeat Nagato. She just couldn't bear that sight. It was then when Nagato decided to train her by himself, and soon enough they were training daily.

Yahiko and Jiraiya eventually joined the training as well, and soon enough it was turned into a daily basis for the group.

Konan shook the thoughts out of her head as she resumed cutting through Zetsu's endless waves of clones, seeing how they kept charging and charging at her, having no end whatsoever. A few minutes passed and the Angel was beginning to get stressed and exhausted, even though she was still defeating every single clone with ease.

Konan suddenly perked up, feeling a hand grabbing her wrists, causing her to instantly look down and widened her eyes at Zetsu, who was grinning at her with his upper body emerged from the floor. The Angel had no time to react before Zetsu submerged back with inhuman speed, taking her down with him. Since Konan didn't have the ability to mold herself with the ground, which was really surprising, she was slammed viciously into the rooftop, her body shattering the floor as she cried out in pain.

Konan slowly turned around, sprawled on the floor, resting on her back as she panted and gasped in pain, blood leaking from her mouth. Her eyes were squinted in pain, feeling numbness in her legs. Her body wasn't the durable type, her bones could be broken up by vicious strikes like these. _'D-Damn…' _Konan thought, widening her eyes when she felt sharp pain in her lower back. She arched it upwards, closing her eyes and snarling as the pain only grew stronger. She suddenly heard a loud crack, and felt as if her body is torn apart, forcing her to cry out in pain.

Her sight was getting blurred, and the Angel could make out the sight of Zetsu's clones gathering around her. _'My back…Kami…my back…' _Konan thought as Zetsu's clones leaped into the air, her pained, weak eyes following their movements. The pain was unbearable, her sore, twisted back muscles, which weren't unknotted or massaged for eight, whole years of constant work were now snapping themselves apart. She could see the images of Zetsu's clones diving at her from above as she lost the feelings in her legs. _'I'm sorry…Nagato… I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…I love you!'_

Tears began rolling from Konan's eyes as the clones dove at her from above, three of their flytrap extensions suddenly bending downwards and climbing down their arms, hardening and sharpening until they turned into bended blades.

Konan closed her eyes and snarled, expecting the worst, knowing that this was it for her, that she has failed her Nagato. She could see Zetsu suddenly diving at her as well, and in an instant, he grabbed her together with the rest of the clones.

Zetsu grinned as he impaled Konan's body with his flytrap blades, following by the rest of the clones to do so as well. He could see Konan's eyes widening in disbelief, only to widen his own at what occurred afterwards.

Konan's body was then divided into countless of paper sheets once more, which were slightly yellow-colored, resembling the color of an explosive tag. Zetsu's jaw slowly dropped, watching in slow motion as the countless paper-sheets began steaming up, the vicious sound of a sizzle echoing through the rooftop as the "paper sheets" were ignited, rotating around the clones in a burning storm.

'_C-CRAP!'_

A vicious explosion rocked through the village, the countless explosive tags detonating, shattering the rooftop Konan and Zetsu were battling on, destroying it and causing the entire building to crumble apart, throwing stone and metal rubbers all over the streets together with a cloud of stone dust.

The cloud shrouded over the street, a dead silence passing through as it slowly died down, revealing the wreckages of what used to be an industrial-like Amegakure residence. Neither Zetsu nor Konan could be found or seen between the rubbles.

A few minutes passed before Zetsu could be seen cautiously emerging from the floor of a nearby rooftop, which was slightly ruined from the shockwave of the explosion. His eyes widened slightly before hardening, glaring at the wreckages of the building, realizing what just happened. _'That was just _too _close…' _White Zetsu thought frantically between pants, seeing what the fate of the rest of his clones was. If he wouldn't have submerged with the ground in the last second, he would've been pulverized completely._** 'She concealed herself with explosive tags in case she died by my hand…hoping to drag me to the afterlife with her. Smart move…but not smart eno-'**_

Zetsu's eyes widened when suddenly they felt incredible pressure squeezing down his feet, only to look down and witness that the floor around him was cracked, with many white paper sheets climbing up his forelegs, gluing themselves to them.

The Cannibal frantically tried to move and pull himself free, but was unable to. It was as if he became a part of the roof now. _**'What the hell is that paper!' **_Black Zetsu thought angrily, desperately trying to break free. _'But…that's Konan's paper…then…that means-'_

White Zetsu couldn't even confirm his resolve when countless of paper sheets tore apart from the rooftop and began forming Konan's upper body, her angelic form hovering infront of the Cannibal, unharmed the slightest bit. '_I see…' _White Zetsu thought amazingly as he glared at Konan, who was just glaring him back, a spark of disappointment in both of their eyes. He recalled what happened previously, when he was battling "Konan", who reformed herself from the floating paper sheets after his clones attempted to charge at her. _'It was a clone, concealed with explosive tags. A very tactical move, I'm impressed. We have truly underestimated her.'_

"**Damn it…you almost got us back then." **Black Zetsu started mockingly, narrowing Konan's eyes at his tone, which was filled with twisted amusement. Many paper sheets began clenching themselves together next to Konan, taking the shape of a sharp, narrow paper speed. Konan sent her right hand and gracefully held the spear, aiming its sharp point at the center of Zetsu's forehead. "It seems we have underestimated you, Konan. We almost had you…"

"You're telling me…" Konan muttered emotionlessly, her voice cold before she thrust the spear into Zetsu's head, impaling through his face completely. The tip of the spear effortlessly emerged from the back of Zetsu's head.

Konan withdrew the spear from Zetsu's head, allowing the spy's corpse to hit the floor, a clean hole at the back of his head and his forehead. Her paper spear dissolved into paper sheets as she gazed at Zetsu's corpse, noting that something was amiss. _'He won't let himself get killed this easily…' _Konan thought, narrowing her eyes as she looked all over the rooftop, feeling something strange in the atmosphere. _'This cannot be the real Zets-'_

Before Konan knew it, Zetsu shot up from beneath her and kicked her abdomen viciously, sending the startled, pained Angel to roll on the floor with a cry of pain. She instantly rebounded back into standing by flapping her wings, noting her legs were dissolved as she wrapped her right arm around her abdomen, bending forwards slightly, panting. _'H-How did he manage to land a hit on me!' _Konan thought surprisingly, glaring at Zetsu's evil, twisted eyes. The spy grinned as he licked his lips, letting her know that he was the real Zetsu. Konan suddenly winced, feeling a sharp stab of pain in her abdomen which almost forced her to her knees. If anyone would attempt to hit her while she was using her Dance of Shikigami, the part which was about to get hit would instantly dissolve into paper sheets and cut through her opponent. However, this time, it didn't happen. _'Something is wrong…something is horribly wrong!'_

"**Just like you…" **Black Zetsu started with a twisted grin, perking Konan's eyes as countless of his clones emerged from the floor on the rooftop, all grinning on her with those evil, dark eyes, identical to the original. It was a gigantic wave of clones, bigger than any wave she had faced, and if Konan counted correctly- she was facing a wave of two hundred clones.

"**We also got some tricks up **_**our **_**sleeves."**

* * *

Another shockwave rocked through the highest tower in Amegakure, Pain's and Madara's battlefield, as the two leaders clashed again, the fierce battle seemingly not going to end anytime soon. The two were so powerful and agile that they couldn't land a single, successful hit on one another.

Madara quickly sent a side-kick towards the side of Pain's head, noting that he might actually hit him this time, but was surprised when the Rinnegan wielder instantly held his left forelimb at the side of his face, effectively blocking Madara's kick. Pain then viciously sent his palm forwards, widening Madara's eyes.

The Uchiha Leader became intangible, causing his leg to slip through Pain's forelimb in slow motion as Pain's palm almost reached Madara's abdomen. Madara widened his eyes as Pain's palm hit an invisible force infront of his abdomen, forcing the air to collide against it with inhuman force, brutally repelling the atmosphere around Madara, triggering a vicious Shinra Tensei which repelled Madara's body to the other side of the lobby.

The Uchiha collided against the wall at the other side of the lobby, which was rather ruined from the aftermath of their clashes up until now. His collision sent stone dust around the area, together with some stone rubble. _'Damn it.' _Madara thought as he got up, noting that he was covered by the cloud of dust. He was amazed at Pain's abilities, even at how he managed to react to his migration technique. _'He knew that I am still affected by outer forces such as gravity…smart thinking, Nagato. Few can actually strategize a way to counteract my Space-Time Migration technique.'_

Madara just stood there, noting that the cloud was supplying him the cover he needed to think out a strategy for his next attack on Pain.

The Rinnegan wielder knew that he was planning his next move, glaring at the stone cloud, concentrating deeply, wanting to hear every single sound produced inside that cloud beside the one of rolling pebbles. It would be insulting if a simple Shinra Tensei in the form of a palm thrust finishes off the almighty Madara. Heck, it would be impossible.

He just waited for Madara to make his next move.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Pain perked up, watching an enormous wall of endless flames erupting from the stone cloud, sending powerful gusts of heat as it charged at the Rinnegan wielder with great force, burning anything in its path.

Pain quickly took a step backwards before swinging his upper body forwards, snarling as he palm-thrust the area infront of him, sending a small sound of a tremor around the area.

An invisible wave of vicious force struck down the center of Madara's Great Fire Annihilation, forming a massive hole in the endless wall of flames, forcing the entire wall to collapse into itself by its sheer power. The Rinnegan wielder had no time to rest as, surprisingly, Madara emerged through the hole created in the wall, the fire surrounding his body, wearing two Pain's eyes widened when an enormous wall of endless flames was moving towards him with incredible speed, sending powerful gusts and heat waves as it moved closer and closer to the Rinnegan wielder. Acting quickly, Pain took a step backwards before swinging his upper body forward and palm-thrusting the air infront of him.

A massive hole was suddenly formed in the wall of flames, leading to the entire wall to just collapse into itself by the sheer power of Pain's Shinra Tensei strike. The Rinnegan wielder had no time to rest as Madara emerged from the blazing wall, his body covered with its flames, which were seemingly harmless on him. The Uchiha Leader was wearing two, wide metal bracelets on his wrists, which extended two, long chains. Those chains were covered in the blazing flames of his Great Fire Annihilation, turning them into blazing chains.

'_My time interval isn't over yet, this is going to be a close one.' _Pain thought seriously as he pulled out a single, long chakra blade from his right sleeve and held it with both of his hands, giving it the form of a metallic fighting pole.

Pain's chakra blades could be used as a variety of weapons thanks to their lengths. If he made a few, short chakra blades, they could be used as bullets which would be fired from his sleeves and destroy anything in their path. Creating medium-sized chakra blades, and Pain could use them the same way Konan uses her paper blades. Creating a large, long chakra blade will give him the option of using it as a fighting pole for fast, protective combat.

Madara began to rapidly swing his blazing chains at the Rinnegan wielder while swiftly spinning and moving around to attack from any possible direction, yet was surprised when Pain acted the same way, blocking his chains with the tips of his chakra pole and rotating swiftly to counter further incoming attacks. Their speed was inhuman, a normal man would not be able to follow their swift movements for long, yet it only showed how experienced the two were, as they still weren't able to land a hit on one another.

Acting swiftly, Madara swung both of his blazing chains in the same time at each side of Pain's chakra pole, causing the Rinnegan wielder's eyes to widen when the blazing chains were wrapped around each side. Pain's eyes then narrowed into a glare, a small smirk growing in his mind.

Madara's eyes widened when Nagato's Rinnegan opened and glared down at his soul, stunning and horrifying the Uchiha Leader as Pain's chakra, which was filled with dark auras and the intention to kill, began creeping up his body from the chakra pole and the blazing chains. Pain then horizontally held his chakra pole infront of him and sent a straight, vicious kick towards its middle. Madara realized Pain's plan, and even with Nagato's chakra making it difficult for him to move, he managed to get intangible, causing his wrists to slide through his braces as Pain's kick broke the chakra pole into two chakra blades and headed towards his abdomen.

There was now an inch separating between the first strike in this battle and Madara's abdomen, yet Madara was even more surprised when instead of kicking his intangible abdomen, Pain kicked the atmosphere around it, repelling the gravitational forces around the Uchiha leader and sending him flying with a vicious shockwave.

A small smirk made its way to Pain's mind as he watched Madara being sent away, a smirk that instantly disappeared when Madara quickly summersaulted into a firm stance, taking a battle position and glaring at him. _'Time to do it the old, fashioned way.' _The Uchiha leader thought as he charged at Pain with incredible speed, seeing Pain getting his hint and throwing away both of his chakra blades to the sides, together with his blazing chains.

The two clashed viciously, cracking the floor beneath them and sending a shockwave through the lobby. They grabbed each other's palms and struggled together, snarling at each other. Pain eventually rotated in place, trying to swing Madara away, but the Uchiha leader instantly let go of Pain's hands and attempted to send a side punch towards his face.

Pain effectively deflected Madara's punch with his forelimb before sending a side-kick towards his ribs, only for Madara to raise his knee upwards and block his kick quite easily. The Uchiha then attempted to send a few, swift jabs towards the Rinnegan wielder's chest, jabs which were blocked by Pain's palms.

Madara then swiftly jumped upwards and attempted to roundhouse-kick Pain's head in midair, noting that he wasn't planning on using his Shinra Tensei just yet. They were basically inspecting each other's physical strength, even though they weren't attempting to hold back as much as they could.

Pain quickly blocked Madara's kick by sending both of his forelimbs towards the side of his face, feeling the impact of his ankle against them. Madara wasted no time and quickly landed on the floor, crouching instantly as he attempted to send a swift sweep-kick towards Pain's legs. However, his attempt was in vain when the Rinnegan wielder jumped upwards, causing Madara's leg to pass beneath his feet.

Pain then summersaulted forwards, ending his summersault by extending his leg and attempted to send a rolling axe-kick at Madara's head from above.

The Uchiha noticed that and quickly crossed his forelimb above his head, causing Pain's leg to fall between as it was effectively blocked. The momentum and strength of Pain's kick, however, sent Madara's own legs into the floor, cracking it slightly.

Madara attempted to counter Pain's kick with his own attack, but Pain instantly back-flipped towards the floor and landed upside down, standing on both of his hands as he began sending rapid, raw kicks towards Madara with vicious force while moving both of his hands swiftly to keep his balance.

The only thing Madara could do was to block Pain's kicks, which came towards him one after another from various directions. Every block impacted Madara's body slightly, sending it to the opposite direction. The Uchiha had a hard time to keep up with the amazing speed of Pain's kicks, yet he just waited for the right opportunity, which soon came by when Pain attempted to send a kick towards his abdomen.

Madara swiftly grabbed Pain's ankle, smirking as he saw the Rinnegan wielder perking up in surprise and alarm. The Uchiha was then utterly surprised when Pain swiftly rotated, launching himself above the floor with both of his hands using a miniature Shinra Tensei Strike to repel himself upwards.

The Rinnegan wielder then swirled in midair and sent an enzuigiri-kick towards Madara's head, only to perk up when his leg just passed through Madara's intangible head. Using Madara's Space-Time Migration for his own advantage, Pain slipped his leg out of Madara's grasp, severing any physical contact between them and allowing the Uchiha to perform a few backflips to a safe distance.

There was a long silence through the lobby, the two leaders staying put, glaring at each other, none of them even tired from the current exchange. There was no need for a discussion now, each of them was contemplating his next move. _'This battle is going nowhere…' _Pain thought frustratingly, looking at Madara looking at him, able to spot the Sharingan in the hole of his mask.

Pain suddenly perked up, his Rinnegan spotting Madara taking a protective stance as he began forming a few, swift hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" Madara yelled, ending his seal session with the tiger seal as he swung his upper bodyEnding with the tiger seal, Madara swung his upper body forwards and expelled a gigantic wave of flames from the hole in his mask.

That wave of flames spread over the lobby as it headed towards Pain with incredible speed, causing Pain to narrow his eyes. _'Let's try something else.' _Pain noted as he clapped both of his hands together, closing his eyes and then snapping them open as he viciously stomped on the stoned floor with his right leg. His stomp shattered the floor and cratered it, breaking apart the stone tiles as it brought upwards a tremendous, rectangle-shaped wall made of stone to shield the Rinnegan wielder.

The wall was actually a part of the lobby's floor, and the broken pipes which were detached from the main water transfer system when Pain pulled the wall upwards began spraying the water remaining inside them all over.

The wall of flames collided with the wall of stone, forcing the flames to split apart as the stone shielded Pain's body from harms, causing the enormous embers to collide with the part of the lobby which was behind Pain, sending vicious steams and stone dust around the area.

'_Here we go!' _Pain thought before he began rapidly palm-thrusting the stoned wall infront of him, sending a barrage of square-shaped portions of the wall charging at Madara from the force of his Shinra Tensei Strike.

Madara's eyes widened when countless of square-shaped stones emerged from the gigantic embers of his Great Fire Annihilation, covered with its flames as they charged towards him. Madara narrowed his eyes as the first stone of many neared his body, waiting a few seconds before dodging it with amazing speed.

The rest of the stones followed, none of them hitting the Uchiha as he began rotating and spinning around, causing them to continue onwards and hit the lobby wall which was far behind him, scattering stone dust all over.

While dodging, Madara could see Pain's rectangle-shaped wall, which already caused his Great Fire Annihilation to dissipate, growing shorter and shorter, hinting that the barrage of stones Pain was firing at him came from this very wall.

Madara just continued dodging the stoned waves, noting that the stones were growing fewer and fewer. Eventually came his final dodge, and Madara rotated around and finished with his upper body swung forwards, crouching with both of his arms stretched backwards, a rather dramatic pose to show Pain that he wasn't able to land a single hit on him even with such a creative move.

Madara chuckled in triumph, opening his eyes to look at Pain, only to widen them to full extent when he was welcomed by what was left of the rectangle-shaped wall charging at him with inhuman speed, as if it was a roaring train, leaving stone dust behind it.

Pain could just stand there and see as the wall collided with Madara's face, sending a vicious tremor through the lobby as it scattered stoned rubbles around it with a cloud of stone dust. Yet the Rinnegan wielder knew it wasn't over, as the cloud instantly dispersed to every direction, revealing Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan through the hole of his mask. His body was surrounded with purple-blackish aura, Amaterasu's flames surrounding the area around him, covering up a gigantic, mutated skeleton of a human, which also emitted purple aura.

That skeleton had four arms, each arm bearing a hand with six fingers. The gigantic skeleton also had two faces, one of them facing Pain, and that head had two, gigantic husks and many canine teethembed to its jaw bracket. The other head was at the back of the current head, having a single, enormous horn at the middle of its forehead.

Pain could only glare at Madara's cold Mangekyo Sharingan, which was now glowing with the intention to kill, bearing no emotion whatsoever. "Nagato…" Madara muttered, his voice cold and unforgiving, the black flames burning down the area around him. He noted how hard and unnecessary it was to battle Pain, an opponent who was rivaling him in strength, not to mention exhausting himself to the level in which he was forced to use his Susanoo. "Why…why are you insisting so much on disobeying me! What is the point in all of this! What are you trying to accomplish by rebelling in such a point! How can you let yourself throw away everything we've accomplished!"

Pain refrained from his offensive stance, realizing that Madara decided to initiate a small conversation. He knew that the two really needed a small break from their warm-up, knowing that after that conversation the battle is going to get a lot more severe. "As I already said, Madara…I was blinded by my hatred and by my revenge throughout those years. I was unwillingly cooperating with you, Madara…it wasn't me…it was a monster who wanted nothing but destruction." Pain replied, his voice hard and determined, the two glaring at each other. "Now my eyes are opened, and the answer to peace had never been so clear before. I simply want to see my Angel smiling…I do not care about the rest of the world right now. A man like you will not understand the meaning of her smile to me, it is useless to sit and explain it to you right now. Madara...using my Angel's smile I am going to create _true _peace! It's not too late for someone like you either! Refrain from your twisted ideals and aid me in my quest!"

Madara chuckled mockingly, almost a snort. "A quest for what? For a pathetic _smile_? _This_ is the reason for your rebellion! A naïve perspective of a child, denying the reality of this cruel world! Nagato, what have you become!" He yelled, disbelieved at Nagato's words. He found his resolve and his answer idiotic- a single smile cannot possibly bring peace. "We can reach a conclusion which will stop all wars, which will stop pain, which will stop hatred! Nagato, we're so close! You and me…we are the same! We have both experienced the pain…the hatred…the abandonment…we suffered that hatred, that revenge…we are supposed to realize the same things! How can you say that a single smile can bring about a peace which can be compared to what we're about to do?"

"As I have already told you, it will be useless to sit here and explain the meaning of Konan's smile to me. You already know that she opened my eyes, thus you can only _comprehend_ the feelings of guilt and remorse which tore me apart when I realized the pain I brought upon her throughout those years. You can only _comprehend_ my happiness now that she opened my eyes, that I'm back being myself…you can only _comprehend_ the true meaning of her smile to me now…you can only comprehend what I already _understand_." Pain Countered calmly, closing his eyes as a soft breeze brew through the lobby, fluttering his and Madara's Akatsuki cloaks together with their hair. "You…a man who embraced darkness, who embraced the pain and hatred of the loss which was brought upon him…a man seeking to bring vengeance upon the shinobi world…do not even dare insulting me like that and claim that you _understand_ me…that we are the _same_…We were never the same…we never will be."

"I see…" Madara muttered, looking at Pain with his cold, glowing Mangekyo Sharingan as his cloak began fluttering itself upwards, his visible eye squinting slightly in a smirk. "In that case…the time for talk is over. You are the only possible threat to my ambition, there is no reason to hold back. I will kill you right here and put an end to your meaningless world of peace and justice! Then…I will take your Rinnegan…and seal the rest of the Bijuu…and realize my 'Eye of the Moon' plan…and be the master of the universe!"

With his last words said, the black flames around Madara's Susanoo expanded as it began growing muscle tissues, sending gusts of ominous chakra all over the lobby. The Susanoo's pitch-black eye sockets now gave birth to narrow, yellow glowing eyes. Two of the Susanoo's hands formed two, black orbs surrounded with Amaterasu's flames.

With his final form completed, Madara's Susanoo opened both of his mouths to release a sheer, vicious roar which tore through the lobby, sending powerful gusts and cracking the pipes shielding the lobby's walls. "COME AT ME, NAGATO!" Madara roared with the uncontrollable desire to battle, wanting to face Nagato without holding back, his Mangekyo Sharingan fully widened with insanity. "WE SHALL SEE WHICH ONE IS STRONGER- MY DARKNESS…OR YOUR LIGHT!"

Not intimidated by Madara's strength the slightest bit, Pain slammed both of his hands at the lobby's floor, glaring at Madara as two gigantic humanoid arms tore apart the lobby's floor behind him, scattering heavy, stoned rubble across the field. Each arm then folded itself downwards and clutched a portion of the lobby's floor, shattering the stoned tiles as they sent tremors through the lobby and lifted upwards the massive, gigantic upper body of the Gedo Mazo, breaking half of the lobby's floor behind Pain and turning it into nothing more than a wreckage of stoned rubble.

Madara's eyes widened in surprise, witnessing the enormous size of the most powerful summoning technique known to the Shinobi World, one which was only told in the myths concerning Rikudo Sannin in pure shock and disbelief, witnessing the enormous size of the most powerful summoning technique.

He now realized that this battle might be tougher than he thought it'll be.

He never once wondered how Pain's huge statue managed to fit into this rather large lobby, but he did note that it was smaller than before. It was too convenient that Pain could control the size of the Gedo Mazo at his will, just like Madara could control the size of his Susanoo.

The Gedo Mazo interrupted Madara's thoughts as he sent his left hand to violently grab the blindfold covering his eyes and, without a further note, removed it swiftly. He then snapped open his nine, enormous eyes and widened them to full extent, releasing his own vicious, ear-tearing battle roar, which shook the entire village.

Madara's hesitating, shocked Sharingan was now staring in disbelief at the nine, massive Rinnegans of the Gedo Mazo, yet his eyes were no match when compared to Pain's eyes, which were now bearing willpower and determination beyond any comprehension as the Rinnegan wielder glared heroically at the Sharingan wielder.

* * *

Konan's eyes widened completely in shock as she recognized the roar echoing through Amegakure, turning her look to the tower where Pain and Madara were fighting as she was flying through Amegakure's streets with incredible speed, fleeing from countless of clones who were erupting from the buildings surrounding her, forcing her to turn or maneuver each time. _'Nagato…' _She thought, concern taking over her expression as she could barely hear the real Zetsu's loud, evil laugh.

"**We'll capture you eventually, Konan!" **Black Zetsu raged as the spy jumped from rooftop to rooftop, chasing the fleeing Angel, frustrated that all she could do is attempting to escape. "You know you will not be able to keep this up much longer!"

"**RUN! RUN LITTLE ANGEL, RUN!" **

Konan perked up when another enormous wave of clones emerged from the building to her right, all of them extending flytrap spikes from their sleeves, just like the first clones which defeated her own paper clone.

Knowing what will happen with even a single clone is to hit her, Konan was forced to flap her wings once again and turn instantly to the right, seeing that the clones blocked her route. Zetsu laughed evilly as he followed her from the rooftops, looking at the amazing show.

Another wave of clones blocked her route, and Konan was again forced to turn to a different direction, only for the same thing to happen again, and again, as if Zetsu was somehow controlling her route, wanting her to go where he desired.

Konan's eyes widened when she reached a construction site of a one-way street, shocked that Zetsu discovered the construction portion of the village. Swirling swiftly and rotating while paper sheets piled up on her hands and took the form of paper blades, Konan cut through countless of pipes which were on her way as she moved swiftly through the construction street, widening when her only exit from the construction site back to the safe streets was blocked by countless of Zetsu clones.

'_This will be a close one!' _Konan thought as countless of paper sheets were divided from her angelic wings and sharpened themselves. She began rotating again in amazing speed, the paper sheets around her helping her turn into a vortex of white cuts which tore through the construction site and pierced through the clones, while protecting the Angel herself from harm.

Konan got an idea while she was heading towards a split turn street, knowing that this is her chance to confuse Zetsu and even the odds. Zetsu was currently chasing her tail from the rooftops, having been forced to take a different route since navigating himself through the construction site wasn't easy.,

The Angel instantly divided herself into two halves, each half growing the rest of its body and a second wing from countless of paper sheets pilling up on one another. The cannibal was now facing two, elegant Angels, who looked at each other with a knowing smirk before each Angel took a different turn down the street, one to the right and one to the left, widening Zetsu's eyes.

"**Which one should we follow?" **Black Zetsu asked frantically as they were approaching the split turn, causing white Zetsu to smirk. "I know who the real one is…but just to make sure- I take the right, you take the left. We'll try to bring each one of them back to one street so we can have sight on both of them. If you get a chance to kill her, do it."

"**Got it!" **Black Zetsu replied as the two split up, the Akatsuki cloak tearing apart as each Zetsu took a different turn, growing their own arms and legs in the process as the flytrap extensions around their head changed to the form of a collar.

Konan's eyes widened when she spotted black Zetsu chasing her without his white half, jumping through the rooftops with amazing speed, trying to keep up with her as he sent forth a wave of black Zetsu clones from a nearby building, forcing the Angel to change directions. **"I KNOW YOU ARE THE REAL ONE!"** He roared twistingly, grinning if he had a mouth on his face.

Holding onto that thought, Black Zetsu merged his lower body with the rooftops to increase his travel speed tenfold, attempting to decrease the distance between him and Konan as they moved through the countless streets with blinding speed.

Not much time passed, and Konan perked up, glancing to her right to see that Black Zetsu caught up with her. She began to panic, a reaction which was justified as Black Zetsu instantly launched himself to the left, using his vicious momentum as he extended flytrap spikes from his forelimbs, roaring evilly.

Before Konan managed to follow, Black Zetsu landed viciously on her, instantly impaling her back while she was flying with his spikes, causing her to release an uncontrollable shriek of pain, feeling her body tearing itself apart as her paper wings dissolved.

The Angel lost altitude quickly, eventually hitting the floor with another scream of pain, feeling like the entire street is being rubbed against her body, tearing it apart and leaving a stone dust trail from behind, stained with her own blood. The momentum slowly died down, and the Angel soon found herself pinned to the stoned, harsh floor by Black Zetsu.

Black Zetsu grinned, his flesh-lusting eyes capturing the tears rolling from Konan's eyes as she again screamed in pain, trying to arch upwards, her Akatsuki cloak torn apart and her body bleeding uncontrollably.

Laughing to himself, Black Zetsu slowly slid his flytrap spikes out of Konan's body, causing her to scream once more as with a violent pull, blood was sprayed everywhere.

The Angel was now in her final seconds, watching Black Zetsu smirking at his blood-stained spikes, which were leaking down her blood onto her body. Making another swift move, Zetsu impaled Konan's heart, causing the constantly gasping Angel to release a vicious shriek of pain once more.

The pain was unbearable, beyond any words, she felt her body going on rampage as her heart squeezed in her chest, death slowly creeping into her body. The pain was infinite, it was vicious and cruel…

The pain was…a lie.

Black Zetsu's eye widened when Konan slowly stopped screaming, her scream dying down as she opened her squinted eyes slightly, her panicking expression slowly turning into a triumph, happy smirk. She turned her head upwards to look at the shocked, disbelieved Black Zetsu with a smile, happily closing her eyes as she tilted her head to the right, instantly grabbing Zetsu's wrist.

Konan's skin now began turning white, slowly cracking and pilling off into paper sheets which took flight in the wind, eventually revealing strange patterns on themselves, patterns which resembled…

"Better luck next time…" Konan teased happily, her paper sheets slowly penetrating Black Zetsu's skin, causing him to groan in pain.

The panicking Zetsu rapidly attempted to try and pull his hand out of Konan's impaled chest, seeing that there was no longer blood covering her cloak, only to get his expression to horrify even more when countless of explosive tags began climbing up his arm from Konan's body, hardening to the point when they felt like diamonds squeezing down his body.

Soon a vicious sound of sizzling tore through Black Zetsu's ears, causing him to snarl maniacally, realizing what just happened.

"**SHIT!"**

A huge explosion then rocked the street far away from her, sending tremors through the villages as a small smile spread on Konan's lips as she was effectively dodging another wave of White Zetsu clones, looking at the real White Zetsu whose expression turned enraged, realizing that his black half has been brought down. _'One Zetsu down…one Zetsu to go.' _Konan thought jokingly as she rotated, her front body facing white Zetsu. She began firing countless of sizzling explosive paper arrows at White Zetsu, causing him to merge his entire body with the ground as the explosions caused by the arrows rocked the streets, causing countless of buildings to collapse and scattering heavy, stoned rubble all over.

"DAMN YOU!" White Zetsu roared, his body slowly submerging from a different building around the fleeing Konan as he resumed chasing her swiftly, his enraged expression only making Konan's victory sweeter as she easily navigated further into the streets. "I WILL KILL YOU!"

"LET'S SEE YOU TRY, YOU ALOE VERA SCHIZONFRENIC CANNIBAL!"

"AFTER I DEVOUR YOU, I'LL MAKE SURE TO SHOW NAGATO THE REMAINS OF YOUR CORPSE!" White Zetsu roared, enraged at the completely humiliating insult Konan pinned to him. What Konan failed to notice was a soft, dark, twisted grin growing under his lips, chuckling as he continued the chase after the Angel. _'All I need to do is to wait for the perfect opportunity…and victory will be mine!'_

* * *

Meanwhile, at a large lake surrounding the outskirts of Amegakure, a small, harmless toad surfaced among the calm waves, slowly opening its mouth to make room for a completely unbelievable human arm, which made its way from inside its stomach, followed by the rest of Jiraiya's body. The Toad Sage slowly crouched on the lake, looking at the village from afar, the rain, gloomy, industrial village, where the leader of Akatsuki was rumored to be. _'Infiltration complete…that was quite easy.' _He thought, bringing a small, nostalgic smile, noting that the never-ending rain now ceased for a few minutes, a thing which was uncommon around the center of the Rain Country. _'And what a good weather too, it was useful to come here a few days sooner than I had planned.'_

With those thoughts in his head, the Toad Sage began running frantically on the stormy water, attempting to avoid the large, violent waves, noting that a nearby storm was approaching.

A few minutes passed and Jiraiya was already walking through the streets of Amegakure, noting how empty they were. Well, Amegakure wasn't the most active village throughout the Shinobi World, but for the streets to be this empty, it even deserved Jiraiya's attention. _'I should go to the shopping district…the streets are completely deserted.' _He thought suspiciously, frowning as he continued walking calmly down the quiet street. _'I may be able to find some information on Akatsuki's leader there.'_

As he walked through the village, which seemed to be more and more silent and deserted as he continued, the Toad Sage couldn't help but bring a sad, mourning expression, recalling nostalgic memories._ 'Being here…I can't help but remember those three…' _He thought, feeling tears standing in his eyes as he turned to the right and began walking through a different street, which was, too, deserted. Everyone must've been in their homes, or maybe he was just touring the wrong area of Amegakure. _'Yahiko…Konan…Nagato…I can feel my old, barely-healed wounds reopening…those three were such good kids who wanted to change the shinobi world…especially you, Nagato…your deaths will haunt me forever…why did I abandon you? What gave me that cruelty to leave the three of you to die in this horrible place? Maybe…maybe your death was just a rumor.'_

Before he knew it, the Toad Sage was already fighting with himself on the inside, deeply in thoughts, forgetting the reason for which he was here. His first, three disciples were the only thing in his mind right now. _'It can't be a rumor…so much time had passed and I haven't heard from them at all! If those three were supposed to be alive, they would've brought an incredible change to this world as the prophecy mentioned…maybe they really were killed after all.' _Jiraiya thought deeply as he took a left turn towards Amegakure's shopping district, a mourning, sad expression flooding his face. The Toad Sage instantly shook off his sadness, knowing that there are more urgent priorities. _'I shouldn't dwell on such things, I came here for the sole purpose of finding and stopping the leader of Aka-'_

Before he got to finish his line of thoughts, Jiraiya perked up and gasped viciously, eyes widening in shock and disbelief as he stared at the sight infront of him. He had reached the shopping district, and he could say that it wasn't the most welcoming sight he had expected. The district was overflowing with countless of villagers, which were all, unfortunately, either sprawled on the floor or rested against a wall, seemingly lifeless. It felt like the entire world had gone into infinite slumber, the deadly silence not helping Jiraiya's feelings. A soft breeze brew through the district as Jiraiya began running towards one of the villagers, who was resting against a wall- a middle-aged woman, who had blonde, flowing hair, seemingly in her twenties. The Toad Sage crouched, observing the woman closely, his expression slowly turning into one of disbelief and surprise. _'A-A Genjutsu?' _He exclaimed mentally, slowly opening the woman's closed eyes, seeing that her pupils were transparent, out of focus, unconscious. Jiraiya frantically looked at the other villagers, shocked that such a thing is possible. _'A-All of them are under a Genjutsu! How the hell is this possible!'_

Jiraiya's eyes then hardened into a glare, deep in thoughts, thinking about what could've been the cause of this unusual event. _'A Genjutsu…on an entire village…who could have such vast power to cast a Genjutsu on an entire village? There is only one eye Dojutsu that can reach such a level…and even manage to restrain the most skilled Shinobi…' _He thought, noting to himself that some of the villagers who were under the Genjutsu were high-class Shinobi, who could probably cancel every genjutsu with ease. _'No…this can't be true, not even the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan is powerful enough to cast a genjutsu on an entire village! Only one person has the chakra level to keep an entire village under a genjutsu…Nagato…the mental and physical power of the Rinnegan knows no bounds. But…that can't be right! Nagato is dead! Something else must be causing thi-'_

Jiraiya perked up as a high-pitched whistle piercing next to his ears, caused by a stirred projectile that pierced the air next to him, missing his head by an inch. The Toad Sage yelped and instantly shot upwards in a protective stance, looking around cautiously. _'What was that?' _He thought, narrowing his eyes into a glare.

A few seconds passed and Jiraiya's eyes widened in complete shock, spotting the stirred projectile that almost killed him impaled to the stoned floor a few meters away from his location. He was instantly there, crouching to pick the projectile up and hold it upwards against the grey sky of the village, narrowing his eyes as he fumbled and played with the small, extremely hard, razor-sharp paper arrow. _'This…no…it's a paper…but…so delicate, yet so sharp and sturdy…' _Jiraiya thought shockingly, his expression slowly turning into a nostalgic smile as he gazed at the small paper arrow, Konan's young, playful figure flashing through his mind, reopening old wounds. _'There…there's no mistake…only…only Konan could make such a thing out of sole paper…'_

Jiraiya stared at the sky, the direction where the arrow came from, smiling slightly, knowing that his past is toying with him, wanting him to give in to the guilt. He was barely even to notice a blurry figure from afar, flying away from him. Jiraiya's eyes widened in shock once again, wanting to just smash his head into the floor and cover himself up. "K-Konan?" He gasped, watching the blurry figure stopping in her tracks to look around, frantically. Jiraiya put the side of his palm on his forehead, narrowing his eyes. It was really Konan…a mature, beautiful version of Konan, with huge paper wings consisted of countless paper sheets, flying in the middle of the sky. _'I'm getting so old that I'm hallucinating…' _The Toad Sage thought as he rubbed both of his eyes, waiting a few seconds before opening them again.

No, Konan was still there, in the middle of the sky, only causing Jiraiya to look closer.

It didn't take long for him to widen his eyes fully when he spotted a paper flower on Konan's blue hair, even though she was so far away from him, bringing him to the realization that the one he was looking at was really his only, beloved female student. _'IT…IT REALLY IS KONAN!'_

* * *

Upwards in the middle of the sky, Konan was cautiously looking all over the village, her eyes narrowed, carefully searching for Zetsu's location. _'He disappeared…something's wrong here.' _Konan thought suspiciously, seeing that the endless waves of White Zetsu clones ceased chasing her as well…everything was quiet…as if death was lurking by.

In such moment, it is when Konan had to expect the unexpected, to be on high alert…to expect every single thing to happ-

"KONAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANN!"

Konan yelped in alarm, eyes widening slightly at the sound of her name echoing through the streets below. She was sure of one thing- _no one _at Amegakure knew her name, and even if they did, no one would dare speaking it. All simply referred to her as "Kami's Angel", a title given to her by the villagers themselves.

Now that she thought of it, there was no way anyone in Amegakure would be able to counter Pain's genjutsu, which was casted on the entire village in order to allow her to battle freely. Something certainly didn't add u-

"!"

Alright, now it was getting scary.

A few seconds passed, and Konan's eyes widened even more in awe, thinking that she had recognized that mature, low sound filling her ears. She recalled her childhood, when she heard a similar voice so many times.

Konan lowered her head frantically, instantly looking at the streets of Amegakure from above, searching for the source of this voice, which awakened memories so nostalgic it made her mind blur. Her amber eyes eventually squinted slightly, homing in on a microscopic figure downwards at the shopping district, only to widen her eyes back in pure surprise. "Sensei?" She gasped in shock, her amber eyes squinting once more. The fight against Zetsu must've been affecting her so greatly.

Konan's amber eyes widened completely, getting a clear sight of Jiraiya, a mature, old version of Jiraiya, who was standing at the center of the shopping square, waving at her cheerfully with both of his arms, his mouth fully open in a disbelieved smile.

The Angel felt tears of happiness dwelling in her amber eyes, and she allowed them to roll down her pale, smooth cheeks and fall down to the village as she lifted both of her arms upwards, waving at her old Sensei as much as she could, a powerful, big smile of happiness overflowing her expression.

"JIRAIYA-SENSEEEEEEEEEEEEI!"

* * *

Jiraiya brought a big, happy grin, tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks as he closed his eyes, wiping them away and continuing to wave at her with a relieved expression on his face. His only female apprentice was alive, and how she had blossomed since he last saw her. All the rumors of their deaths was just a big, fat lie. The Akatsuki cloak adorned on her body was the least of his worries- he was just so happy to see that she is alive, and that she is so happy to see him.

He didn't mind, he didn't mind Konan being in the Akatsuki, not when he could see that her personality hasn't changed. If she was waving at him with such unending happiness, even when she knew that he was a Konohagakure ninja, then why should he care whether she's an Akatsuki member or not?

At one of the rooftops standing proudly behind Konan, who didn't stop waving at Jiraiya, the stoned tiles could be seen distorting slightly, giving birth to White Zetsu's face, grinning darkly. _'This is unexpected…' _He thought, eyeing Konan closely, watching her distracted, vulnerable expression. _'But this will have to do.'_

Not even hesitating for a second, Zetsu distorted the rooftop around him and literally flashed through the rooftop with the speed of lightning, leaving behind a trail of dust as he launched himself into the air with vicious momentum, rocketing through the skies, a victorious grin on his maniac face.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in surprise when he spotted another figure, dashing through the skies towards Konan with great speed, causing the Toad Sage to narrow his eyes. Was his female disciple in a middle of a spar with a fellow Akatsuki member? It didn't matter, what mattered was that Konan is only focusing on him, failing to notice the incoming Akatsuki member. "KONAN!" He shouted frantically, a panicking expression on his face, causing Konan to perk up with a puzzled, questioning expression.

"BEHIND YOU!"

* * *

Konan's heart began skipping beats as she instantly rotated around, her eyes widening themselves in horror to witness Zetsu heading towards her with a maniacal grin on his face. _'I can dodge him!' _She thought, not hesitating for a moment as she attempted to flap her massive wings.

Konan's eyes widened in complete terror, wincing as countless of sharp stings tore through her body, preventing her from moving an inch from where she currently was. _'W-what?' _Konan exclaimed mentally, attempting to perform a failed movement once more. _'I-I can't move!'_

With each passing inch covered up by Zetsu's movement, Konan began panicking more and more, disbelieved she was unable to do anything. With a maniacal, evil laughter, Zetsu extended three flytrap blades from his right forelimb, causing Konan's eyes to widen fully and her mouth to open.

From here on out, the Angel could feel everything slowing down, the world around her muting as the background turned white, allowing her to deeply witness Zetsu closing in on her helpless figure.

Jiraiya's eyes slowly widened, his jaw dropping slowly as Zetsu approached his female student. He realized only one thing…

The silence engulfing Amegakure was as if death lurked in the shadows…the silence of the war currently taking place in Amegakure, to life and death.

Among the gray, endless skies, a loud, vicious sound of piercing flesh could be heard, echoing down on the village of Amegakure, the silence preserved as Jiraiya's eyes completely widened in utter terror, his jaw dropping heavily, watching the sight in the middle of the sky.

And up there in heavens was Konan, her eyes slowly widening to their full extent, her jaw dropped completely, allowing a pool of blood to leak down from her mouth to her chin.

Her paper, angelic wings slowly crumbled, dissipating into countless of paper sheets stained with deep-red blood. Konan slowly regained the lower part of her Akatsuki cloak, the paper sheets slowly falling to form her legs, which had blood leaking down from them into her high heels.

* * *

Not far from that point, among the waves of crumbling, stoned rubble and pitch-black, vicious flames, Pain's Rinnegan slowly widened, his jaw dropping, feeling as if his heart was torn apart. Madara's eyes narrowed, using this opening as his Susanoo thrust his fist, which was engulfed with Amaterasu's flames, into the head of the Gedo Mazo, who instantly deflected the punch viciously with his right wrist, sending shockwaves through the building.

_'What is that feeling?' _Pain thought, feeling his body slowly growing numb as he clutched his chest, knowing that it was actually Nagato missing beats at the top of the tower. He shook his head, wanting to get that horrible feeling away from his body as the Gedo Mazo roared once again and began struggling against Madara's Susanoo.

"GIVE UP, NAGATO!" Madara roared, his Susanoo slowly pushing down Pain's Gedo Mazo as he roared, both of their gigantic arms trembling slightly. Madara's Susanoo raised up one of the two palms which bore the orbs in them, and suddenly, the orb exploded, releasing a vicious wave of black flames to all direction.

Pain and the Gedo Mazo both crossed their forelimbs infront of their bodies, resisting the intense heat of Amaterasu's flames. The Gedo Mazo then sent forth a sheer roar, which released bright-blue chakra to all directions, quelling down Amaterasu's flames as he swung both of his arms to the sides and charged at Madara's Susanoo, palm thrusting his chest into the lobby's wall, sending another vicious shockwave through the crumbling lobby.

A vicious blast erupted from the Gedo Mazo's palm, cratering the entire wall which was pushed against Madara's Susanoo, causing him to release a powerful cry. Madara's eyes widened slightly when Pain forced his resolve and determination to surface back into his eyes, trying to deny this heart-breaking feeling as much as he could.

* * *

Tears of horror and shock filled Jiraiya's eyes, the Toad Sage unable to comprehend the sight before him, his trembling pupils reflecting the image of Konan's devastated, horrified expression, which was filled with pain and agony.

Zetsu's grin grew wild, his eyes narrowing devilishly at the image of his three flytrap blades, which were impaled deeply into Konan's abdomen, tearing through her Akatsuki cloak and her flesh, allowing blood to gush out and stain their edges as they emerged from her lower back.

And among the gray skies of the industrial village, a terrorized, devastated, vicious shriek of endless pain echoed through the clouds, tearing apart heavens above who were looking downwards at a fallen Angel.

Then, as the climax reached the highest peak known, so came the author of this story and put in a traumatizing cliffhanger.

* * *

Oh, what a cruel way to end the third chapter of A New Path at Life, but cliffhangers must be present within a saga like this, don't you agree?

Anyways, so come forth the ending of chapter 3. Jiraiya has appeared, the puzzle pieces coming in together with the incoming conclusion of the battle. Such a vicious turn-point for the battle of Konan and Zetsu, as Zetsu seemingly gained the upper hand and defeated Konan.

We had many surprising elements in this chapter which gave us both the feeling of Adrenaline flowing through our eyes and the feelings of our hearts beating slowly…while writing this chapter, I could clearly picture the scenes in my mind.

I hope you had that pleasure as well.

Join to tune in for **Chapter 4- Despair and Hope- A New Path! ** We will have so much going on, finding out what will be the conclusion of this devastating battle, which will be the first step of opening this story, and of course, Konan's fate.

You might be thinking "great, how the hell can someone start a story with such a thing". Wait and see, my friends, wait and see.

I believe I should remind you of the existence of a very important button at the bottom of this page, where readers could voice their opinions to the author of the story and perhaps give advices and suggestions. It is called the **REVIEW **button.

I would love hearing your opinions on how I've been doing so far.

I shall see you in around a week or two as we'll prepare for the launch of Chapter 4.


	4. Despair and Hope, A New Path!

**Chapter 3- Hope and Despair- A New Path!**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"**Echoing Speech."**

Hello there, hello there! Welcome to yet another exciting, action-filled, dramatic and heart-pumping chapter of "A New Path at Life"! The last chapter I left you with a rather nasty cliffhanger that would probably change the course of this entire story.

Things will start coming together in this chapter, as we come to the conclusion of Pain's and Madara's battle.

I will not reveal much about this chapter here only that from here on out, the story TRULY begins. You can consider this a…"Prologue"…but it's still taking place in my story's time, then…yeah, perhaps this is a part of the story.

Well then, happy reading~

* * *

Jiraiya's eyes were fully widened, his jaw completely dropped in disbelief, tears flowing down from his eyes as the sudden trauma and shocked tore apart his body, following by sorrow and despair as he watched the horrifying, terrorizing sight of Konan being impaled in her abdomen by White Zetsu, Madara's subordinate, who was constantly chasing her since their battle had begun.

The fallen Angel's devastated, vicious shriek tore apart the village, echoing through Jiraiya's ears, tearing them apart as well, together with his heart. Before he knew it, the Toad Sage's terrorized, shocked expression turned into an enraged, vicious snarl, homing in on the one who was currently impaling Konan. "NOOOOOOO!" The enraged Toad Sage roared as he instantly began running up the side of a building at the shopping district, evading various obstacles and misplaced pipes, his eyes never leaving Konan.

The Angel coughed pools of blood repeatedly, screaming viciously in horrible pain as Zetsu landed on a nearby rooftop, holding her by her throat. "KONAAAAAAAAAAAN!" Jiraiya roared, instantly speeding up his pace.

Zetsu was grabbing Konan's throat with his right arm, holding her upwards so her feet were above ground, smirking as the Angel released suffocated screams of pain. His smirk soon turned into a maniacal grin at Konan's condition- there was blood leaking endlessly from her mouth, and gushing out from three holes organized in a horizontal line in her Akatsuki cloak, motioning the condition of her abdomen. Those three holes were currently covered by Konan's left arm, which was wrapped around her abdomen viciously as the Angel held Zetsu's wrist with her right hand as much as she could, trying to support her body up.

Her horrified, amber eyes were now squeezed shut viciously in horrible pain, her expression turning into a snarl of agony as the Angel felt the immense, unbearable pain tearing apart her body, causing her to scream loudly in pain once more, flinching. She tightened her hold around her abdomen, the blood leaking down from her forelimb, dripping down the stoned floor.

"Yes…I finally got you." Zetsu commented darkly with a victorious, evil smirk, gazing evilly at Konan's pained expression as his three flytrap blades returned themselves to his shoulders, heavily stained with Konan's blood. "You really gave me a good chase…lucky for me I planted my spores inside you once the fight started…"

Konan's eyes squinted slightly at Zetsu's words, her amber irises brighter and her pupils out of focus. Her skin was horribly pale, paler than usual as tears of pain overflowed her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, unable to bear the horrible, vicious pain. The picture of Nagato flashed through her mind endlessly, tearing her heart apart. "S…po…res!?" She barely managed to choke, feeling as if her body will give in to the horrible pain any second.

Zetsu nodded, grinning twistingly, causing Konan to recall the start of the battle, when Zetsu's presumably dead clones grabbed her body a split second before she turned into paper. "All this time I have been chasing you, wanting you to exert more chakra and push yourself so the spores can spread." He explained evilly, narrowing his single eye. "I was merely waiting for the moment when the spores will paralyze you completely."

Konan's expression turned disbelieved, barely able to dwell on the moment when she was shocked that her body didn't dissolve into paper sheets in reaction to Zetsu's kick. _'It...was because...of the spores...' _She thought weakly, now realizing what happened. Not that this realization helped her physical and mental condition in any sort of way.

"KONAAAAAN!" A loud shriek echoed through the village, perking Zetsu up heavily. The Cannibal's widened eye turned to look at Jiraiya, who swiftly leaped into the rooftop from a nearby building's wall, tears flooding his eyes upon seeing the condition of his beloved apprentice.

Before Jiraiya knew it, he was charging viciously at Zetsu, his snarl filled with rage at the Cannibal as he formed a powerful, concentrated rasengan in his right palm. "YOU BASTARD!" He roared, before thrusting his powerful technique at the white spy.

Zetsu chuckled, a split second before three of his clones emerged from the stoned rooftop and shielded Zetsu from Jiraiya's attack with their bodies. Zetsu managed to evade towards a nearby rooftop, watching Jiraiya's rasengan expanding, vaporizing the clones as it shot towards a building with unbelievable energy, shattering the tower completely and scattering stoned rubbles at the street below, following by a powerful tremor.

Zetsu stood there, watching as more of his clones surrounded Jiraiya, submerging from the rooftop to charge at the enraged Toad Sage.

"Ji…ra…iya…" Konan managed to squeeze before gasping heavily, releasing a suffocating choke as more blood leaked down her forelimb. She watched Jiraiya taking out Zetsu's clones mercilessly, one after another, with unbelievable, swift moves. Even if her sight was blurred to the point of blind, she could still define the techniques her sensei was using, looking at the way is long, white, spiky ponytail swung. The pain was still tearing her body apart, causing the Angel to take short, rapid gasps in order to prevent herself from being suffocated from Zetsu's hold. "Se…nsei…"

Jiraiya looked at Konan with devastated, sympathizing eyes, a reassuring, comforting smile spreading among the tears rolling down his cheeks, the gift of hearing Konan's voice again melting down his heart. "Don't talk…please…Sensei's here, I will save you…just endure the pain." He begged comfortingly seconds before the last of Zetsu's clone fell against the stoned floor, dead as dead can be. "You've blossomed into such a beautiful woman, Konan…I'll save you, and kill that bastard, I swear in Kami's name!"

"Forgive me," Zetsu apologized sarcastically, twistingly, grinning as he chuckled to himself. More of his clones began rising up around Jiraiya, countless in numbers, causing the Toad Sage to perk up in anger. "I don't have time for Jiraiya-sama, one of the three legendary Sannin…I need to go back to Tobi and rub this little "Angel" against Leader-Sama's face…see you around."

Jiraiya instantly attempted to dash forward, but was stopped halfway as Zetsu's clones charged on him viciously, forcing him to start making his way through them. There was no end to them, only more and more clones blocked his way and began fighting back, forcing the Toad Sage backwards.

Jiraiya only could spot Konan, looking at him with tearing, pain-filled, terrorized eyes before Zetsu jumped away into a nearby rooftop, making his escape.

"YOU'RE NOT GETTING AWAY!" Jiraiya roared as his spiky, white hair covered his body, extending countless of razor-sharp, long, thick needles which pierced and impaled the clones surrounding him, forcing each one to the ground.

Using the advantage, the Toad Sage instantly dashed after Zetsu, who began fleeing away faster, only to be once again grabbed by countless of clones who forced him down into another rooftop.

"NOOO!" Jiraiya roared as he began tearing apart through the mountain of clones above him, forcing each clone to the edge of the rooftop as he erupted out of them, a vicious snarl on his face. He instantly glanced to the right, seeing Zetsu slowly jumping downwards to a rather short rooftop, and from there on out, the cannibal vanished.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

The clones' eyes widened as a massive, thick cloud of smoke engulfed the entire rooftop, making room for a rather weak tremor which shook down the building. Suddenly, an enormous, purple toad erupted from the smoke, jumping towards the sky.

The blue, strange toad was dressed with a weird, black karate-top which covered up a fishnet shirt. It also adorned a gigantic, spiked sasumata and a traditional, Japanese head-cover.

On the top of the strange toad's head was Jiraiya, who was able to spotted Zetsu making his way through the rooftop.

Zetsu perked up, looking over his shoulder to widen his eyes as he witnessed the enormous toad diving at him from above. Konan's dying, weak eyes were as well glancing weakly on the toad, yet she didn't have much time to get a clear sight as Zetsu submerged his lower body with the ground, causing her to release another shriek of pain while Zetsu began moving through the streets with blinding speed.

Jiraiya's summoning toad collided with the tall building, its massive weight shattering the gigantic structure and reducing it to nothing but stoned rubble. "FASTER, GAMAKEN-SAN!" Jiraiya roared frantically as the toad once more shot towards the sky, eyeing the streets of Amegakure in search for the cannibal.

Suddenly, Jiraiya perked up, glancing to his right to spot a wave of endless Zetsus erupting from a nearby, massive building next to him. Every single clone grew out three flytrap blades from his forelimb, as the wave rained down on Jiraiya and his summoning toad- Gamaken.

Jiraiya began rotating and stomping around, furiously striking away with swift punches and flexible kicks the clones who managed to land on Gamaken's head, while Gamaken himself assisted on his own by swinging both of his arms repeatedly, sending away the clones embed to them and causing them to collide with nearby, piped buildings. "I'm sorry for being so ungrateful, but what's happening here?" Gamaken finally asked, rather curious as he brought forth his sasumata to crush and strike incoming clones.

"I'll tell you later, just keep fighting!" Jiraiya raged, panicking as the two continued battling the endless wave of Zetsu clones, constantly trying to evade and make their way through.

Even though Jiraiya lost his sight of Zetsu long ago, the Toad Sage could only make an assumption as he gazed at the tallest, most impressive building of Amegakure, a tower fitting for a Kage…or more importantly- the leader of Amegakure.

Little did he know, inside that very building's lobby, a vicious, unforgiving war took place, a war which was supposed to decide the fate of the world. The lobby was now nothing more than a ruined rubble field, filled with stoned rubbles and splashing water which flew down from broken, shattered pipes.

* * *

Madara stood at one side of the lobby, panting and gasping heavily, his cut, bruised body raising off steams, his Akatsuki cloak completely torn apart. Madara's Susanoo was now nothing more than a black, burning skeleton, who was as well nearly shattered.

Not much time passed before Madara's Susanoo collapsed, sending black, fiery bones around the battlefield. The bones began to slowly fade away into thin air, as the illusion of Madara's Susanoo ceased.

All the leader of the Uchiha could do is to watch the panting, exhausted Rinnegan wielder, who only had a few bruises on his body. Pain straightened himself up, closing his eyes and ramming both of his palms together, allowing his undamaged Gedo Mazo to roar viciously a few seconds before it disappeared with a gigantic cloud of smoke.

"Give up…Madara…" Pain muttered, panting heavily, clearly exhausted from the battle as well. He glared at Madara, who was seemingly snarling at him from beneath his mask. The Uchiha was forced to use the forbidden Izanagi with his left eye to keep himself from dying again by the inhuman, merciless attacks of the Gedo Mazo. "You…cannot possible win. My light…is stronger than your darkness…I am stronger…than you will ever be! Just…admit your defeat!"

Madara stiffed repeated, dark chuckles, breathing deeply and gasping as his glowing Mangekyo Sharingan glared down at Pain. "You seemed…to be exhausted…yourself." He commented as he started slowly walking towards Pain, who mimicked his motions, their pace getting faster and faster with every passing second. "As long as I'm breathing…as long as your heart still beats…this battle is not over. Maybe I am just the ashes of the one I used to be…maybe my power is not in the same level as it used to be…maybe I cannot crush you and make you realize how useless your existence is…but I can still…plunge you down into the darkness with me if I have to…I can crush your naïve dreams…and no matter what…I will make sure that you do not walk out from this place alive!"

Pain's eyes narrowed dangerously, glaring down at Madara as the two leaders charged at each other with tremendous strength, each of them striking a swift, vicious punch at the other, only for him to raise up his other palm and block the other's fist effectively.

The collision was rather weak, compared to their first one at the start of the battle. They have been fighting for almost two hours, and neither of them was going to give up, even if the long duration exhausted them down.

They struggled against each other, both of them snarling weakly, waiting for the other to lose his strength, to submit and weaken so they would have the opening to strike down.

Suddenly, without a notice, both of Pain and Madara perked up, hearing the sound of heavy, slow footsteps approaching from the entrance to the lobby, which was yet to be covered by stoned rubbles. They both instantly turned their heads to the right side of the lobby, eyeing the entrance before a white, twisted Zetsu slowly emerged into the lobby, a dark, triumph grin plastered on his face as he dragged a dying Angel after him by her throat.

Time stood by from that point onwards, Pain unable to comprehend the sight before him, unable to possibly think and realize what was just happening. His body began trembling heavily, his jaw slowly dropping in uttermost disbelief and terror. Tears flooded his slowly-widening, devastated Rinnegan eyes.

He didn't want to believe…he refused to believe.

"K-Konan?" Pain muttered, his voice heavily shaking from tears, weak and hoarse from shock, his body frozen in place, unable to exert any kind of effort. He currently tried to process the…inhuman picture standing infront of his eyes, the world standing by for him.

He didn't even notice Madara's punch, which collided directly into his face with all the strength the Uchiha leader could exert, knowing that this is the opening he needed, quite shocked and disbelieved by the sight himself. The Rinnegan wielder was sent flying, and instantly collided with the stoned wall behind him, not showing any gesture to acknowledge the impact, his face dead of every single emotion aside of devastation and agony, shock, disbelief and despair, his fully widened eyes still locked with Konan's face.

Zetsu chuckled at Pain's expression as he heavily tossed the dying Angel at the opposite wall of the lobby. Pain's eyes followed every inch of Konan's condition, disbelieved, thinking this is all an illusion, a genjutsu.

Konan collided with the rather destroyed wall, coughing up blood and screaming in pain. She hit the stoned floor with a vicious thud, coughing up even more blood as she curled into a ball, both of her arms wrapped around her abdomen tightly.

Pain couldn't find the words to speak, his mind on the brink of collapsing, unable to digest the sight before him. He was speechless, devastated, tears flowing down his cheeks like miniature waterfalls. "Took you long enough, Zetsu…" Madara growled, glaring and Zetsu, who shrugged and smirked. Madara then glanced at Pain, watching him barely able to stand up, clutching his face in disbelief.

He would forgive Zetsu for being late, either way, this battle has ended.

"No…Konan…NOOO! NOOOOO!" Pain roared in endless agony as he began dashing towards Konan as fast as he could, his steps unbalance due to this tremendous trauma. Madara complied with Pain's actions, having no intention to battle someone who will no longer be able to fight back. "KONAN! KONAAAAAN!"

He was next to her, collapsing to his knees and bending forward, his body shaking viciously as his trembling hands softly grabbed Konan's wet, smooth cheeks, tilting her face ever so slightly so she was now unwillingly looking at him. The sight tore apart his heart into tiny fragments, unable to bear the impact. "Na…gato…" Konan whispered hoarsely, tears flowing down her cheeks, feeling Pain hugging her as tight as he can, crying heavily into her shoulder, devastated. "I'm…so…so…rry…"

Pain slowly removed his face from Konan's shoulder, his shattered Rinnegan gazing deeply into her ambers irises. Her eyes were ruined, her amber now turning into a brighter shade of yellow, her pupils slowly fading away and shrinking. Tears were flowing endlessly down her eyes, her heart destroyed as well. "It's okay…it's okay…I'm here my Angel…I'm with you…it's alright…" Pain breathed traumatically, hypertilating as he buried his head in her shoulder once more, crying heavily, the mental pain and vicious guilt tearing him apart. "Kami…Kami…what have I done…stay with me Konan…you'll be fine…I'll fix this…I'll make the pain go away…I swear…"

That was when he lost it, Pain soon collapsed into sheer crying into Konan's shoulder, his palms clutching her upper back in an endless, tight hug, as tight it could be.

"Na…gato…be…hind…you…"

Madara and Zetsu were now an inch behind Pain, who removed his head from Konan's shoulder slowly and stared at the wall she was resting on, seeing the massive stain of blood, his Angel's blood, which reflected the shadows of Madara and Zetsu. His eyes slowly widened to full extent, his jaw dropping slightly, the Rinnegan's rings contracting and shrinking as his pupils trembled.

The entire wall then broke apart, widening Madara's and Zetsu's eyes as from the stone dust emerged the Asura Path, who instantly stroke down a vicious, wild double lariat to both of them, an enraged snarl on his face, filled with rage.

They were each sent to a different direction with the speed of bullets, Madara relieved like he was never before for the fact that he barely managed to distort the space around him to protect his body from the vicious lariat, unlike Zetsu, whose chest was completely torn apart by Asura Path's charge, splashing massive pools of blood all over.

They both collided with the walls of the lobby, shattering them completely, Madara yelping in pain from the impact as he fell down on the floor, only to quickly rebound back into a firm standing.

The Uchiha widened his eyes as another figure emerged from the hole created in the wall Konan was resting on, none other than the Human Path, who began dashing towards Asura Path and grabbed his wrist. Without hesitating, the Asura Path swung his arm forwards viciously, launching the Human Path directly into Zetsu, who just collided with the wall.

The Human Path roared as he instantly thrust a fist into Zetsu's stomach, causing the Cannibal to cough up blood as the wall was shattered completely, sending the both of them across it and outside the tower into Amegakure's skies.

"YOU FUCKING CANNIBAL BASTARD!" The Human Path roared as he and Zetsu were diving towards the streets of Amegakure, Zetsu barely alive and dying, a weak snarl on his face. The cannibal had no power to struggle as the Human Path sent his arm forward, grabbing his throat and crushing it completely while he was impaling his body repeatedly with a single chakra blade. "DIE! DIEEEEEEE!"

As the two were diving through the skies of Amegakure, downwards towards the village itself, the Human Path eventually began lowering his palms viciously downwards at Zetsu's face. The horrified, dying cannibal instantly grabbed the Human Path's wrist with both of his hands, struggling against him as much as he could with the strength he had remaining, and so, the two struggled against each other in midair. "I WILL…MAKE YOU PAY!"

Zetsu's eyes widened as the Human Path's roar brought forth a long, sharp chakra blade from his sleeve, which was positioned right infront of Zetsu's face. The cannibal barely had time to hesitate, speak or even think as the chakra blade impaled through his head, causing the cannibal to release his hands from the Human Path's wrist, his single eye rolled backwards to the back of his head, seconds before the chakra blade came out from the other side, gushing out stains of blood.

Seeing that he is still alive, the Human Path brought his palm downwards and clutched Zetsu's face, the vicious pressure nearly tearing the cannibal's head apart. The Human Path then violently tore apart his palm from Zetsu's face, a glowing, blue figure of a human body glued to his palm- Zetsu's soul. The soul then slightly dissipated, and the Human Path's eyes widened fully when every single memory of Zetsu flashed through his mind, reaching the peak when they stopped at the moment when the cannibal was impaling Konan's abdomen maniacally.

Having witnessed this horrible trauma of his Angel first-hand, the Human Path, and as a result, Nagato, Pain, and the rest of the Six Paths, were all thrown out of control, Nagato himself having his heart torn apart as the memory carved a tremendous, critical mental scar on his soul.

The Human Path roared in uncontrollable rage as he began impaling Zetsu's head with his chakra blade rapidly, not caring if the cannibal was now nothing but a dead corpse. They were slowly closing in on the ground, and a fall like that would tear apart their bodies, and the Human Path himself (and Nagato, as he was the one controlling the Six Paths) had no intention of letting it end right now.

He rotated so he was now facing towards the tower, clutching Zetsu's corpse with his right palm, which adorned a chakra blade that was impaled into his face, and aimed his other palm at the tower itself.

He then extended an extremely long, thick chakra blade, which drove towards the tower with insane speed, piercing through its wall. The chakra blade was now embed to the tower, and it's lack of flexibility caused the Human Path to be swung towards the tower's outer wall.

The moment he was near the wall, the Human Path brought forth Zetsu's body as it collided with it ferociously, shattering the wall. At the same time, the Human Path viciously knee-kicked the corpse's abdomen, causing a shockwave which bore such sheer force that it broke the wall completely.

The Human Path and Zetsu's body were sent into the tower, emerging into a particularly dark, empty room, which was only dimmed lighted by the hole created in the wall.

Not every single room in this tower was used by Nagato and Konan.

He threw Zetsu's corpse across the room, causing it to sprawl on the floor in the middle like a ragdoll. The enraged Human Path swiftly walked towards it and began stomping on it viciously, as hard as he could, roaring with each stomp as he was unwillingly forced to go through the memories of his Angel being impaled so mercilessly by Zetsu, tearing his heart apart.

* * *

"Gamaken-san!" Jiraiya yelled, witnessing Gamaken dropping to one knee, the never ending clones impaling him with their flytrap blades constantly, blood leaking from small holes in his body formed by the blades. He instantly charged forward, devastating every single clone throughout Gamaken's body, causing them to collide with the stoned rubbles surrounding the rooftops. _'Damn it! If I won't recall him back…he won't be able to live through this battle! But without him I won't get to the tower in time!' _"Gamaken-san! Return to mount Myoboku! I'll take it from here!"

"I'm sorry…that…I'm so ungrateful." Gamaken muttered, lowering his head as he sheathed down his sasumata and then disappeared with an enormous cloud of smoke, leaving Jiraiya with countless of Zetsu clones surrounding him.

'_Damn it…I need to hurry!' _Jiraiya thought, witnessing the clones charging at him once more, the never ending waves seemingly getting the upper hand as the Toad Sage began forcing his way through, striking down mobs of Zetsu clones with vicious strength and agility. _'I must get to the tower in ti-'_

Jiraiya didn't have time to finish his thoughts when every single clone surrounding him just dropped on the floor, motionless, lifeless as a corpse. The Toad Sage's eyes widened in disbelief and shock, taking time to digest the _very _fortunate event which took place, not even daring to question his luck. _'W-What just happened?!'_

Realizing that he did not have time to start an investigation or even ponder at the reasons for this mass-collapse, the Toad Sage began looking all over frantically, jumping from building to building with swift agility, eyeing for the highest tower in Amegakure, the place Zetsu was heading towards. _'Why would Konan join the Akatsuki?! It doesn't even make sense…' _Jiraiya thought, starting to ponder the abnormal situation as he spotted the highest tower he could see and started heading towards it. It was rather far in the horizon, but not a distance that an experienced Shinobi like him could not travel. _'If she's alive…then maybe Nagato and Yahiko are alive as well! In that case…Akatsuki's leader must be one of them! But…why would Konan battle her own comrades?! And why is that "Tobi" battling the leader of Akatsuki?!'_

Not knowing the answers to such questions, Jiraiya pushed away those thoughts as he sped up towards the highest tower in Amegakure, far from him at the center of the industrial village.

* * *

"This won't take long, just…endure the pain…" Naraka path muttered, shocked and disbelieved as his hands hovered above Konan's abdomen, which was now overflowing with pools of blood. Narrowing his eyes, the Naraka Path's hands were surrounded with thick, bright glow of green chakra. That glow was different, stronger and darker than the regular healing techniques which were used by standard medical-nins. The reason for that was that Naraka's healing abilities were beyond the comprehension of humans, it was the power of the Rinnegan, which gave him the abilities to control life and death.

The rest of the Six Paths were present in the lobby as well, except from the Human Path, who was now in a different floor of the building. Asura Path, Preta Path and Animal Path were all standing in a straight, horizontal line, standing in a protective stance, separating Madara from getting to Pain and the dying Konan.

Madara was at the other side of the lobby, kneeling, panting heavily, half of his mask torn apart as a result from a physical exchange he had with Asura, an attempt to get to Pain and Konan. It was clearly a wrong move, which caused the Uchiha to realize why Asura Path is also named the "Warring Demon".

Pain was behind them, kneeling next to a dying Konan, hugging her as tight as he could, sobbing into her shoulder, one hand clutching her back while the other softly caressed her blue hair, unable to comprehend that such a terrible tragedy took place. The poor Angel often winced and sobbed, causing the panic and guilt inside Pain to carve deeper into his mind. "PLEASE HURRY!" He shrieked in agony, panic overflowing his body. It was true, the Six Paths themselves were all directly connected with Nagato's mind, but he grew that habit of speaking to the rest of the Six Paths as if they were all himself, though they all had the same personalities and behaviors.

Naraka path had tears running down his eyes as well, attempting to heal Konan as fast as he could. The chakra flowing through Naraka's body was a very unique, one-of-a-kind chakra. That chakra's healing powers were inhuman, and it was the trait that made Naraka Path's healing techniques beyond human reach.

Konan winced again, harder this time, panting and grunting repeatedly, her palms clutching down Pain's back. Pain's eyes widened, his jaw dropping in disbelief as he pressed the Angel softly against his body. "I'm here, my Angel…I'm here, Konan…I love you…please…endure the pain…just a little longer." Pain sobbed into her shoulder, his body shaking heavily. "I'll make the pain go away…I'm so sorry…I'm so sorry…"

"Na…gato…" Konan suddenly gasped, her voice dying, hoarse and filled with pain. She squinted her amber eyes slightly, tears flowing down her cheeks as Pain removed his head from her shoulder, gazing into her expression with panicking, tear-filled eyes, both of his hands lowering her slightly so he could get a better view of her face, supporting her back. The Angel managed to find the necessary strength, and as she pushed back the pain as much as she could, a small smile made its way through her pain, a warm, innocent smile. She rested her trembling, right hand on his cheek, a weak, faint touch, melting through the Rinnegan wielder's heart.

Madara witnessed Pain collapsing in sheer sobbing again, burying Konan's head in his neck as he sobbed into her head, his figure devastated, destroyed. He unwillingly inhaled the wonderful scent of Konan's hair, intoxicating his own senses, noting how many years passed since he smelled that heavenly, sweet scent. _'The Human path is missing…I guess Zetsu took it down with him…too bad, Zetsu was a very valuable pawn.' _Madara noted, narrowing his right eye. His left eye had already lost itself when he used Izanagi against Pain's Gedo Mazo. _'Now I am left to take care of Nagato's Six Paths of Pain by myself. It shouldn't be so hard concerning Nagato's current mental condition…and if I calculate correctly, he should begin hypertilating in around ten minutes from now.'_

Madara's eyes began traveling across the Six Paths of Pain (minus the Human Path), narrowing as he thought out a counter-strategy, trying to figure out a way to take down those five beasts. _'Collaborating those five paths is out of the question. Nagato's too traumatized to think out such a strategy in this point. I must use it to my advantage.' _He thought, slowly analyzing his battle routine as his eyes travelled to the Preta path. _'The Preta path is able to absorb any kind of ninjutsu…yet its weakness is in physical combat, meaning that Amaterasu or whichever ninjutsu I use in it will be nullified instantly.'_

Madara's Sharingan then traveled to the biggest one of the Six Paths- the Asura Path. _'The Asura Path is destructive in both far and short ranged combats…not only that its Taijutsu level is inhuman…it can also devastate any opponent from afar. If I hadn't managed to barely used my Time Migration back then it would've ripped me in half.' _Madara noted, groaning mentally at the complicated, difficult situation. _'If Nagato intends to make the first move…it will be with this path. I must eliminate it as soon as I can.'_

Madara's eyes then travelled to the shortest of the Six Paths- the Animal Path. _'The Animal Path…it's more on the defensive side. His summons are both extremely powerful and durable…not to mention that he does not require a blood sacrifice or any kind of hand seal to perform summoning techniques. He can also see through the eyes of his summons and control them…' _Madara thought, the strategy forming up in his mind. _'The Animal Path will be able to buy Nagato the longest time…and it is like the one to exhaust me the most. If I want to beat him I will need to use my Susanoo again…but the strain on my eye will be too much for me to handle. The only thing I can do is burn him and his summons down with Amaterasu to incapacitate him quickly.'_

A long silence passed through the devastated lobby, Madara finally planning out his strategy, a small, evil smirk growing beneath his mask. Suddenly, the silence was broken by Naraka Path, who spoke the words which changed Madara's fate in this battle into a…absolute victory.

"I…can't do it…"

Pain removed his head from Konan's chest, his eyes blurred and completely widened, glancing at Naraka path, who slightly lowered his head and removed his hands from Konan's abdomen. The bright, powerful glow of life surrounding his hands slowly faded away, causing Konan to wince and grunt viciously, the unbelievable pain tearing apart her body once more.

"What do you…mean you can't… do it?" Pain muttered, his jaw slightly dropped, his voice shaking and lacking any form of emotion in it except from utter terror.

"The wound is too deep…her organs are shutting down one after another…no healing technique is able to fix such abnormal damage…not even mine. I don't have the necessary tools to stop the systems from shutting down…Amegakure does not possess such medical technology…there are so many shattered arteries…so many impaled organs…" Naraka path muttered, his voice disbelieved, shocked, unable to realize that he was trying to deal with such a monstrous wound. "Even if we reached a country which had the medical requirements…an operation like that would take twelve hours…assuming they have the necessary crew and the correct amount of blood bags. Either way…an operation like that is impossible…I…I am sorry."

Pain's eyes widened even more, tears overflowing his eyes as his jaw dropped in disbelief and terror. He felt his focus being lost, Nagato's heart slowly missing a beat after a beat, horror and sorrow filling his being. He denied it, he denied it with every fabric of his existence…the wielder of the legendary Rinnegan, a tool used by the god of all shinobi himself…refused to believe that…there was nothing he could do.

The world had gone quiet, Naraka path slowly looking at Konan, whose eyes were now closed. Her breathing was getting slower and slower, her skin turning paler and paler. He slowly rested four fingers on her throat, closing his eyes, tears rolling down his cheeks as well. There must be something he could do…he now thanked Kami that the Naraka path could rather nullify the trauma he was now going through. He perked up, slightly groaning in interest. "Her pulse is still high enough for me to put her body under a complete anesthesia…but I do not know how long it will take." Naraka Path noted, looking at Pain with despaired, devastated eyes. "Either way, the anesthesia will only nullify the pain…but Konan will keep losing blood and her systems will keep shutting down. If my calculations are correct…she won't have enough blood to stay conscious in a few minutes…and after two hours…there won't be enough blood to keep her heart beating and her brain functioning…you have a minute to interact with her…and two hours to be with her…Pain-sama. I…I wish I could do something more…I'm sorry…"

Pain couldn't take Naraka's words as he sobbed deeply, hugging Konan as tight as he could, denying and disbelieving that his Angel's life are coming to their end. This wasn't real, this couldn't be happening. He's still sitting on that statue on the top of the tower, his own brain beating up his conscious because of his refusal to change himself and listen to his Angel's words. This is all…a mental punishment by his heart. Yes, that's it…

It wasn't.

"Don't listen to him…my Angel…you'll be totally fine…I promise you…" Pain sobbed, hypertilating heavily, his pupils trembling. "The pain will go away…I'll make this wound disappear…I swear…I swear to Kami…"

Konan's eyes squinted slightly as her Nagato's words echoed through her mind, her hand resting on the back of Pain's neck, caressing his spiky, orange hair, smiling slightly. "I…be…lie…ve…you…" She squeezed between vicious pants and gasps, her voice barely a whisper. She barely managed to see Pain once again collapsing into her shoulder. "My…Na…ga…to…"

Pain tore his head from his Angel's shoulders and kissed both of her weak, dying eyes as deeply as he could, crying into her forehead. "Don't speak…not a word…" He breathed, his voice shaking horribly, pressing his forehead against hers, their tears uniting. The Rinnegan wielder found himself deeply gazing into Konan's dying eyes, time and space standing by between them. "When you're all healed up…I'll take you with me…we'll run away together…away from this horrible village…go somewhere green…sunny…filled with life…we will start our lives anew…Nagato and Konan…we will isolate ourselves…from this world and live…in peace…and I…will spend every single day…making you happy…filling you with my love…I promise you…you will not remember a single minute…of those horrible years…of this eternal torture…I brought upon you…because I will make you so…happy…I promise…I give you my word…"

Naraka path lowered his head, his eyes closing as Konan slowly started blinking, looking upwards at Pain, her face unable to realize what was going on. Naraka's hand was above her abdomen, the soft, green glow once again returning to her eyes…the pain disappeared…and all she could feel now was Pain's forehead…and his words echoed through her being.

Konan's expression became drowsy, her eyes slowly squinting, her pupils becoming blurred as her breathing got slower. "Na…ga…to…" She whispered, resting her head slowly on Pain's palm, feeling as if she's losing her grasp on her consciousness. She attempted to battle, but it was to no avail, as the Angel slowly closed her eyes. "I…be…lie…"

Pain closed his eyes, snarling in agony, the tears still flooding his face as he lowered his head. "My Angel…" He sobbed, slowly resting Konan's back against the wall, his hands shaking heavily. "Konan…Konan…"

The Rinnegan wielder suddenly perked up, widening his eyes in disbelief as he felt his contact with the Animal path shutting down. He instantly looking to his right, witnessing the body of the said path slowly hitting the floor with a loud thud, covered by Amaterasu's black flames, which slowly burned down its body. "Pain…I recommend you do not forget about me…" Madara chuckled, looking over at Pain, his Mangekyo Sharingan glowing slightly through his single eye.

Without giving Madara a chance to blink, the Asura path grinned as it launched towards the Uchiha with neck-breaking speed effortlessly, causing Madara to widen his eye and perk up. They were instantly an inch away from each other, yet Madara had time to react as the two began exchanging vicious blows, Madara being cautious to not let Asura path's blows make contact with his body. _'Just as I thought…' _He chuckled to himself, slowly bending backwards and dodging a vicious, swift roundhouse kick sent by the cyborg. _'His performance in battle has decreased greatly…I might just be able to be victorious.'_

Waiting for the right moment, Madara dodged a swift elbow swing sent by the Asura path and countered the exchange by attempting to send a blow directly into Asura path's face. Madara's eyes widened in disbelief when the Asura path quickly bended its right forelimb upwards, grabbing Madara's fist with its palm. _'Dammit!' _Madara thought frantically, instantly using his Time Migration technique just before the cyborg clenched its palm, causing Madara's fist to slip right through.

The Uchiha decided to take his distance, and instantly attempted to leap towards the other side of the lobby. _'Damn…that was close…' _He thought, clenching his right palm repeatedly, seeing that no harm was done. _'I was too reckless…that beast would've shattered my entire arm!'_

Madara perked up when Asura path clutched the collar of its Akatsuki cloak, throwing it over its body and tossing it into the air, revealing its pierced, viciously-bulky body, enormous muscles which were made out of pure metal arteries, giving it inhuman physical strength.

Before Madara got the chance to shake off the shock, Asura path was again an inch away from him, causing the Uchiha to widen his eye as he resumed dodging the strikes of the cyborg. _'Damn it…' _Madara thought, instantly bending sideways to dodge a straight jab from Asura path, which was sent directly into him at a speed of a bullet, bearing such horrible destructive power that it nearly shattered the lobby wall behind him. _'I won't be able to create an opening from such a short distance!'_

Before Asura path got the chance to land a single hit, which was mostly caused by the severe mental collapse Nagato was going through, Madara's body swirled viciously, crumbling into his eye, causing the Uchiha himself to disappear completely.

A few seconds later, Madara reappeared at the other side of the lobby, a _very _safe distance away from the destructive cyborg, but only widened his eyes completely at the sight.

Asura path's ripped forearms were detached from his wrists, his palms aimed forwards at Madara. On a closer look, Madara saw that each wrist was connected to its forelimb by a large cord filled with segment-like missiles, which were also aimed towards him. The Cyborg then grinned as he fired the segment missiles from his arms, aiming them at Madara, causing them to charge at the Uchiha with incredible speed. Madara saw Asura Path sprouting four more arms from his shoulder, each arm making a loud, mechanical noise as it transformed into a futuristic-looking weapon.

Madara had no time to inspect the weapons as he was welcomed by Asura Path's missiles, causing him to turn intangible once again. Instead of hitting him, the missiles just passed through the Uchiha, hitting the wall behind him and shattering small portions of it.

Before Madara got a chance to gloat, he caught the sight of Asura's other four arms. One arm was already transformed into an arm-mounted homing chakra launcher, the other one transformed itself into an arm-mounted chakra shockwave cannon, the third arm was transformed into an arm-mounted Gatling cannon and the last one transformed into an arm-mounted concentrated chakra laser cannon.

He was welcomed by the sight of Asura's Path full artillery, which was fired towards him with Asura Path's battle cry. Madara could only chuckle at Nagato's recklessness as he turned intangible once again, causing Asura Path's artillery to just slip through him as if he was thin air and collide against the wall behind him, cracking and shattering it while sending explosions which rocked the entire tower.

Before Madara could get a chance to rest, flames of chakra suddenly burst from Asura Path's fists, the Cyborg grinning twistingly as his body was fired towards the Uchiha with the speed of a bullet. Madara didn't have the time to turn intangible as Asura Path grabbed his face viciously in his palm.

His Sharingan once again transformed into his Mangekyo Sharingan, and Asura Path was then engulfed with the black flames of Amaterasu, slowly burning down his body with inhuman heat. Nevertheless, the Cyborg didn't lose his momentum, neither did he feel any pain from the flames as he was engulfed with a layer of thick, blue-white chakra, his grin expanding amidst the black flames covering his face.

"I will take you down with this body…"

Jiraiya's eyes widened in alarm when a huge explosion erupted from the tower he was heading towards, sending clouds of stone dust around it as a huge shockwave rocked through the village and scattered stoned rubble across the streets. _'There must be a battle going on at that floor between the leader of Akatsuki and that Tobi!' _Jiraiya thought frantically, eyes hardening into a cold glare as he sped up towards the tower, jumping between rooftops and often deciding on different, faster routs between buildings and across streets. _'I must hurry before it's too late!'_

The cloud of stone dust was covering the entire lobby, blocking Pain's sight of what became of Madara. The Asura Path destroyed himself in the attempt to take Madara with him to the grave, but as the cloud died down, Madara emerged back into the lobby, unscratched, standing calmly as he looked at the other path's shocked expressions. _'My strategy worked…' _Madara thought in triumph, looking at the shock Preta Path, noting that him and the Naraka Path were the only paths left at Nagato's disposal. Except from Pain, but he wasn't so fit for battling right now. Pain was concentrating on Konan, burying the Angel's face in his neck while crying into her head. Naraka was also not so fit for battle, as he was currently putting Konan's body under anesthesia. _'The Asura Path was most likely to make a suicidal attempt to take me down with him, while my Space-Time Migration Technique protects me from physical damage. All I had to do was to use it when Asura Path exploded and I was protected from any harm. Nagato clearly doesn't make good choices while under trauma.'_

Seeing that he was the only path left available, the Preta Path charged at Madara with a roar, getting an inch infront of him before attempting to hit him with slow, weak blows. The Uchiha sighed and dodged every single punch and kick swiftly and easily, not sweating the slightest bit. _'The Preta Path can absorb ninjutsu, which means any techniques I use on him will have no effect.' _Madara thought before back-flipping to a safe distance away from the Preta Path. Preta Path wasted no time and charged on Madara again, not intending to let him rest for the slightest moment. _'I have no choice…I will be forced to absorb the Preta Path. Once it is done, victory can already be declared as mine!'_

Before the Preta Path was able to land a single hit on Madara, his image began swirling and shaking viciously as Madara's right Mangekyo Sharingan returned to its Sharingan form and began absorbing him. Madara could finally smirk in triumph, even though he was unable to see anything because his left eye used Izanagi, while his right eye was focusing on absorb Preta Path.

It doesn't matter, nothing can surprise him in such a point.

"I got you…"

Madara's eye widened in disbelief, feeling a hand resting itself on his head seconds before he finished absorbing the Preta Path's body. He felt his soul being shackled, and soon enough the almighty Uchiha fell to his knees, looking at the shadow of the Human Path, which was hiding his own shadow infront of him. His only eye completely widened in disbelief and shock, trying to control the storm of emotions rising inside of him, denying the fact that the one behind him was really the Human Path. "Bastard…you fucking bastard…" He swore, seeing that he couldn't move even a single fingertip. "How…did you…know!?"

"Once I absorbed the soul of this bastard, Zetsu, I gained access to his memories…" The Human Path muttered, looking at Pain and Naraka, who were still deeply focused on Konan. There were so many benefits in being able to control six bodies at once. "I browsed through his memories, trying to find something there which would help me battling you. Then I found out that once you begin absorbing a certain matter…you become solid, and cannot use your Time Migration Technique until the process is done. But what difficult is that I needed to find a way to make you use your absorption technique…and to do that I knew the key was Preta Path. But I also knew that you will be cautious, so I had to wait for the perfect opportunity, for when you will let your guard down the most…for when you will think you are already victorious and will not bother to think what can be the outcome of using the absorption technique on the Preta Path…that was when I needed to act. Just as I thought…eventually…you played like a pawn in my hands throughout this whole battle…I lead you to thinking that I wasn't capable of battling the slightest bit…so you will make the final move which will decide the fate of this battle."

"You…managed…to think out…this entire strategy while…being…traumatized?!" Madara exclaimed shockingly, finding it difficult to speak when Human Path was slowly sucking down his soul. He wanted the Uchiha to linger, to let him suffer as much as he could as his Sharingan disappeared and revealed a black-colored eye. Madara could feel immense pain tearing apart his body at this point. "You were…playing with…me up until…now?!

"No…I was, and still am traumatized…but I assume that you do not know that this body is exceptionally fit to handle mental traumas…" The Human Path muttered, shocking Madara with his words. It was all clear now, the one thinking out the battle strategy wasn't Pain, it was the Human Path, who was being focused by Nagato in order to think correctly. "I have killed many and absorbed their souls…and thus, I absorbed their memories as well. In seconds, I am viewing their entire lives, I am forced to go through all they have been through up to that very point in which they were killed by my hand. I have seen more traumas than I can describe with words…even though none has been more painful and devastating than the trauma I am going through now. I cannot decide whether to skip the memories of the soul I absorb…thus, I had to do something which will make this body able to go through a person's lifespan, which is often filled with traumas, without losing my sanity. I am the only Path who is able to operate and think correctly while flooded with trauma and negative emotions…this is one of this body's benefits. You were correct when you thought I planned this strategy through the Human Path. I really did. Now…once I have touched your head with my hand…I am clutching the strings upon your very soul…you cannot move…you cannot use any technique…our bodies are merged and synchronized…and once I remove my palm from your head, your soul will be removed with it…you will die, Madara."

"Lies…" Madara chuckled, lowering his head in denial, noting that the Human Path's palm was lowered with it, as if it was merged with his scalp. He refused to accept that he was played like a pawn in Nagato's hands at the end of the battle. He, the almighty Madara, eventually lost to the wielder of the legendary Rinnegan. "I…I cannot die…I CANNOT DIE! I AM UCHIHA MADARA, THE LEADER OF THE UCHIHA; THE THIRD OF THE SIX PATHS! I CANNOT DIE! I AM THE ONE WHO GAVE YOU THE RINNEGAN! I AM THE ONE WHO ENCOURAGED YAHIKO TO FORM AKATSUKI! I AM THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THE ORGANIZATION! WITHOUT ME, YOU ARE NOTHING! I WILL NOT DIE, I WILL AVENGE AND BRING PAIN UPON YOU! THE RINNEGAN IS MINE! I WILL NOT DIE HERE! MY EXISTENCE SHALL NOT END HERE! I WILL FIND A WAY, NAGATO! I WILL CLIMB UP FROM THE ARMS OF DEATH ITSELF…AND TAKE YOUR EYES!"

"Quit the bullshit…" Human Path deadpanned as he removed his hand from Madara's face, rolling the Uchiha's eye to the back of his head as a glowing blue figure emerged from his body, its head glued to the Human Path's palm. The Human Path's eyes widened in disbelief as the glowing blue figure slowly faded away to blue sparkles, making Madara's memories slowly flow through his being, bringing light over dark times which he wasn't able to comprehend. "Uchiha Madara…you didn't give me the Rinnegan…you didn't even encourage Yahiko to form Akatsuki…you are not the third of the six paths…you are the shadow of the hero you used to be…you are a man who embraced darkness and revenge…who gave up everything he had for the lust of power…just…fade back into the hell from which you came…"

With the Human Path's last curse laid on Madara's corpse, the Uchiha's upper body collapsed on the floor, lifeless. The Human Path sighed and dropped to all-four, panting viciously, his eyes homed on Madara's body, which was sprawled on the floor. _'It's over…it's finally over…' _The Human Path thought with incredible relief, his eyes glancing up at Pain, who was still hugging Konan tightly, crying heavily into her shoulders, whispering words of comfort and love to her dying ears, wanting to do anything he can to ease up the Angel's pain in her last hours. He could feel his heart tearing apart, yet the Human Path did not collapse in sheer trauma like the others…

No…it was something else which caused him to collapse.

The Human Path's eyes completely widened in shock and disbelief when Amaterasu's flames erupted from Madara's corpse to every single direction in an explosion of black flames, burning down everything around them, including the Human Path's body. _'A…booby trap…' _The Human Path thought, his eyes completely widened with terror as his body collapsed on the stoned floor, Amaterasu's unforgiving fire slowly burning him down. The Human Path squinted his eyes, feeling his sight getting blurred, his being becoming incapacitated. _'Madara…must've booby trapped his body to the time in which he dies…curse you Madara…curse you…'_

Pain's and the Naraka Path's eyes widened, perking up and looking to their right to see a gigantic wave of pure, dark Amaterasu flames heading towards them with amazing speed. "QUICK, PROTECT HER!" Pain roared as he swiftly let go of Konan and stood up together with Naraka Path. Both of them closed their eyes and crossed their forelimbs infront of their faces, shielding the dying angel from the burning fire of Madara's hatred.

Before the black flames were able to reach the dying Konan's body from theirs, Pain and the Naraka Path took as much distance away from her as they could. _'At least the anesthesia was applied on her successfully…' _Naraka Path thought sadly as he slowly collapsed on the floor, closing his eyes as the flames of Amaterasu digested his flesh. _'Her last hours will be painless…'_

And with that, Pain was the only path left functional in the lobby, resisting the black flames as much as he could as he began stepping forwards, keeping his balance and snarling, his Rinnegan flowing with tears, locked with the blurred sight of his Angel. She was unconscious, but there was peace in her face, the peaceful expression he always wanted to see on her, her back resting against the walls, tears flowing down from her eyes as well. _'No…it cannot end…like this…' _Pain thought, noting that Amaterasu's flames were slowly incapacitating his body. He felt no pain, yet his ability to move his body parts was slowly disappearing. He began struggling himself closer and closer to his Angel, who seemed to be farther and farther away from him. _'My Angel…I am sorry…I am so sorry that…in the end…I couldn't protect you…that in the end…I won't be able to make you happy…that I won't be able to fulfill my promise to you…Konan…I tortured you for years…I treated you like trash…I brought pain upon you…and you went through hell to bring me back…even after all I did to you. But even then…even now…you still ended up paying the price…of my mistakes…my innocent, beautiful Konan…my Angel…'_

He was barely getting halfway towards Konan, and Pain already collapsed on the floor. Nevertheless, he was still conscious, yet his sight was getting blurrier and blurrier, keeping himself functioned with pure willpower alone. He began crawling towards his Angel, with every last bit of power he could gather up. _'I want you to know how much I love you…I will say it as much as I can…I will say it as much as you want…' _He thought in defeat, his tears blurring his sight even more. He could see nothing, he couldn't crawl anymore, all he could do was to stretch his arm forwards amidst the endless void he was seeing, searching for the light of his Angel. _'I love you, my Angel…I love you…I love you…I love you…I have always loved you…I will always love you…forever…I need you…by my side…I need to see your smile…I need to hear your laugh…I was planning our future since this morning…when we created our own little world…away from all this pain…away from all this war…the place you are going to go to…a place I will not be able to reach…Kami…Yahiko…I know you want her by your sides…but please…I am not asking for much…I beg of you…let me keep her…if you let me keep her…if you give me a second chance…I will love her forever…I give you my oath that I will make her smile…I give you my word that I will never make the mistakes I've made…please…leave her with me…give her to me…please…my Angel…oh, my beautiful Angel…I don't want you to…go…'_

"K-NAN!" A familiar voice echoed through Pain's ears, perking him up from his trail of thoughts as he could barely make out Jiraiya's blurry figure emerging through the hole created in the wall when Zetsu's body collided with it from Asura's lariat.

He ran frantically towards Konan and kneeled next to her, Pain unable to make out his expression, only seeing his body. He rested his chin on the floor, his eyes slowly closing, feeling the room spinning around him. _'I'm…so sorry…sensei…' _He continued thinking, more tears flowing through his eyes. He now said his final words to Konan, her fate was now in Kami's hands. _'You have come here from my conscience…to see how I have horribly failed to protect those I held dear to me…You came here to see how deep I have sunk, and how my Angel ended up paying for my mistakes…tell me sensei…tell me I have failed you…that you are ashamed of me…scold me, sensei…scold a monster like me, one who must not be allowed to live any longer…'_

"Y-KO?!"

Pain chuckled, watching as Jiraiya carried Konan in his arms carefully and began running towards him, his frantic yells only echoing through his ears as broken words, the image of his sensei multiplying to countless amounts. "Y-KO?! IS TH-T Y-U?!"

Pain's eyes suddenly widened, unwillingly dwelling on Zetsu's memories. He was looking through Zetsu's eyes at Jiraiya, who suddenly emerged to the rooftop to rescue Konan from his clutches after he impaled her abdomen. _'It…cannot be…it's…a miracle…' _Pain thought before slamming both of his palms at the floor, snarling viciously, using his sheer willpower and his love for his Angel as he tried to support his upper body upwards. _'Kami…Yahiko…thank you…for giving me…a second chance…I still have…time…'_

Even though he was not able to understand what his sensei was saying, Pain forced himself back to standing as much as he could, noting how difficult it was to operate himself, his muscles already digested, the flames of Amaterasu eating down his Akatsuki cloak. He began dragging himself towards his sensei, barely able to move. "Ji-ya sen-i…" He muttered weakly, seeing that he wasn't even able to make out his own words, yet knowing that Jiraiya was hearing him clearly. He poured down every last bit of power and strength he had within him. "Pl-se…I b-g y-u…S-VE K-NAN, PL-SE JI-YA SEN-I, S-VE H-R! Y-KO IS W-TH K-MI…A-D MY A-GEL IS T-E ON-Y O-E L-FT F-R ME IN T-IS WO-LD! I DO N-T WA-T TO L-SE H-R AS W-LL!"

With his last words said, Pain collapsed on the floor once again, hitting it with a loud thud. He closed his eyes, unable to endure Amaterasu's flames any further as they started severing the connection he had with Nagato's mind. He smiled weakly, grateful for the chance given to him by Yahiko, grateful for everything Konan had done to him.

And finally, at last, Pain, the last and the strongest path among the Six Paths of Pain, the Deva Path, Yahiko's corpse, was incapacitated.

But not before Nagato managed to pour in one last sentence.

"T-ke…me…w-th y-u…se-sei…"

* * *

Ten minutes have passed before the ceiling of the lobby was shattered completely, crumbling apart and scattering stone rubbles all over the area, making room for an extremely heavy object to hit the floor of the lobby, almost breaking through it as well.

The collision, in combination of the ceiling's crumble, sent out a large cloud of stone dust around the destroyed lobby, which was filled with stoned rubbles and wreckages of pipes. The lobby was now burning with the black flames of Amaterasu, digesting down everything in its path, and when the cloud of dust finally died down, came forth the sight of a panicking, crying Nagato, attached to his heavy, six-legged mechanical walker.

The Rinnegan wielder frantically looked to every single direction, searching for his Angel, who was last seen by his incapacitated Deva Path with Jiraiya.

As he had predicted, they were nowhere to be seen. The corpses of Madara and the rest of the Six Paths were now vaporized, their ashes slowly burning down with Amaterasu's flames, merging with the floor of the lobby. _'They're gone!' _He thought frantically, only to breathe in relief. Suddenly, his eyes perked up, spotting an opened scroll stretched on the lobby's floor, which was repelling away the black flames.

'_That's-' _Nagato thought in disbelief, recognizing the Kanji written on the scroll, which was now glowing with a vicious color of red. _'Jiraiya-sensei's Fire Sealing Method!'_

Nagato's eyes then widened completely, the Rinnegan contracting viciously as he began seeing everything as a black void with white outlines. There was another color breaking the harmony of the contrast, it was an endless trail of glowing, blue chakra, as if a paintbrush just passed through and drew a line from the scroll's location to the hole created by Zetsu's body. _'Jiraiya-sensei headed that way!' _Nagato thought, not taking time to rest as chakra burst out of each mechanical leg in his walker, repelling the Rinnegan wielder and launching him flying through the atmosphere of the room and out through the hole.

He was now amidst the skies of Amegakure, yet the chakra flames were unable to support the full weight of his mechanical walker as he began diving towards the village. Nagato continued channeling the burst of chakra from the six legs of his mechanical walker as he glided towards one of the higher buildings in the village.

Upon landing, Nagato's mechanical walker almost shattered the entire rooftop cratering the stoned tiles, yet his mechanical walker was left undamaged and unscratched. Konan made sure that this incredible machine would be able to survive any kind of physical damage, deciding to build it from Nagato's chakra metal, the metal used in the piercings of the Six Paths of Pain and in his chakra blades.

Nagato continued scouting on the blue trail of chakra, his eyes widened when the endless trail was now stretching over the horizon, touching a few rooftops on its way there. Nagato now knew that it must've been his teacher- no one else would be able to move in such speed while carrying the weight of two other shinobi. Nevertheless, he recognized the direction the chakra trail was heading towards. _'Jiraiya-sensei…you're heading towards the Fire Country!'_

Chakra flames again burst out of the legs of Nagato's mechanical walker as he jumped into the air, shattering the entire rooftop he was on from the impact of the launch and scattering stoned rubbles across the streets once again.

He landed on another rooftop, shattering it as well before jumping once again and landing on another rooftop, following the trail of chakra with amazing speed and progress. _'Jiraiya-sensei…' _Nagato thought, shivers going through his body as he continued following the chakra trail with the same method- jumping from rooftop to rooftop and shattering each one. _'I entrust my Angel's life in your hands…please…save her…'_

Nagato closed his eyes, dwelling back at the moments of his childhood with Konan and Yahiko, dwelling back at the moments of this morning, on the great change Konan made in him, on the promises he made her while she was dying in his arms, about the promises he made her while crying into her shoulders back in the morning. His eyes shot opened and narrowed, a determined, strong expression plastered on Nagato's face as he shot forwards with even greater speed.

'_Konan…thank you for everything that you have done for me…thank you for following me no matter how deep I sunk…thank you for not giving up to your despair and pain even when that monster I used to be shattered you…thank you for opening my eyes…thank you for showing me your smile…thank you for filling me with your love…now, thanks to you…I am no longer a monster…I am a human…and I will want you by my side when I make you smile…when I forge our world of peace and love…I want you to be by my side as we walk together…holding hands…towards a better future…a better, new world…'_

'…_**and A New Path at Life.'**_

* * *

And so begins "A New Path at Life", a new story…a new world, a world which has just found it's god…a story which has just found it's author. The possibilities will be endless as a new adventure begins, an adventure which will take an entirely different route from the Anime, from the Manga, from Nagato's and Konan's horrible fates…from Jiraiya's fate…following by Nagato's change, many other things will change as well, some of them which you never thought will ever change…new enemies will arise…now comrades will arise…the fate and resolve of many characters will be altered…some will die, some will even live (a big, _big _hint)…peace…war…and most of all, that soft, passionate romance and intimacy lacking in almost every Pain/NagatoxKonan story.

It is time for you, my readers, those who have just read this chapters and those who will read it in the near or far future, to witness the true potential of a Pain/NagatoxKonan story, a potential no author had gotten the courage to realize yet.

It will be difficult, but that will be all the fun. I will gladly accept your help, your suggestions, your ideas…after all, who is an author without his subscribing, reviewing readers?

What does the fate (in other words, I) has stored for our Akatsuki couple who had just began walking in a new path? What will befall Konan and her inhuman wound? Where did Jiraiya take Konan, and more importantly, will he be able to somehow prevent her horrible fate of death, thus preventing Nagato's suicide (ahem, you know the answer…after all, this wasn't meant to be a trilogy…)?

Join to tune in for **Chapter 5- A New Path is Opened! **And stick in to follow Nagato and Konan as they shape their new future together.

Like the previous 3 chapters, I encourage every single reader or Pain/NagatoxKonan fan out there to become an author and write down his mind and imagination about those two. I, alone, will not be able to succeed…together we can make a difference!

As I always do, I will remind you once again about the existence of the **REVIEW **button down below. I am not the one who is begging for reviews, but I do appreciate any kind of critism.

So, I will see you in a week.


	5. A New Path is Opened!

**Chapter 5- A New Path is Opened!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden.**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Past Speech"_

I refurse and deny to take any of your time by providing an Author Note, since this will be a most confusing chapter. All I can say is WELCOME, WELCOME to another new chapter of A New Path at Life! However, this is not a normal chapter! This is actually the part of an almight chapter, the chapter I was supposed to work on in the following month.

I decided to divide it into 3, smaller chapters, to ease up on the both of us (me and you, my precious readers). In this chapter you will need to be at full focus, it will contain LOTS and LOTS of LOVE between Pain and Konan, which may make it seem to look like one hell of a boring chapter, but its nevertheless a crucial chapter to our story.

If you want you can skip this chapter, but don't come whinning to me when you won't be able to think how the hell (*Removed due to inhuman spoilers*), alright?!

Well then, without further adue (if that's how its said), ready, set, GO!

* * *

Two days have passed since Nagato's and Konan's tremendous change, which was followed by their battle against Madara and Zetsu. The Deva Path was incapacitated because of Madara's Amaterasu and was taken with Konan by Jiraiya towards the Fire Country, while the rest of the Six Paths of Pain were completely destroyed, rendering Pain, the Deva Path, the only remaining path from the original six.

However, that was the least of Nagato's current worries.

Once Nagato had reached Amegakure's outskirts, he found to his utter irritation that he was unable to walk across the waters of the huge ocean surrounding the village due to the immense weight of his mechanical walker. What irritated him more was that the trail of chakra Jiraiya left behind him just crossed the ocean straight up.

Unable to think of any other way to reach the Fire Country, Nagato was forced to take an alternate route and proceed through Amegakure's wastelands, which eventually reached up towards the Grass Country, a fertilized territory filled with fields of grass and flowers.

As his way was currently prolonged, Nagato had more time to spend worrying sick for Konan, the remorse and sorrow for what he had done to her up until now tearing him apart. He knew that it was hit fault because he allowed her to battle Zetsu on her own, even though the consequences were _very _unpredictable. He lost tracks on how many times he cursed the Cannibal's grave, only bringing up the memories of an injured, dying Konan.

Those thoughts and remorseful conclusions led Nagato to pray and wish for Konan to be alright for the rest of his journey.

While journeying lightly through Amegakure's wastelands, moving as fast as he could, Nagato began channeling to the Deva Path from time to time, hoping to remotely repair the body of his childhood friend, Yahiko, which sustained inhuman burns by Amaterasu's flames. To his misfortune, it wasn't looking like the Deva Path would be fixed so easily, making Nagato curse his luck when he realized he will need more time. At some point, when the sun was presumably setting and the environmental temperature in Amegakure's wasteland was falling, Nagato found a small, warm cave to park in for the rest of the night to rest and recover his chakra.

Nagato's luck just kept running out at sunrise, when he reached the Grass Country's border, because just at that moment, one of the things which aided him majorly in supervising on Konan's condition, her small, tiny, labret piercing, had lost its signal.

It just couldn't get any worse, but Nagato was afraid to even think of that simple sentence.

Konan's labret piercing, which was actually made from Nagato's special Chakra Metal, allowed him to monitor her location while she was unconscious. Now it disappeared, which was why Nagato began praying and panicking when it's signal was lost. There are only two possible reasons for he signal's loss-

The first thing was that her labret piercing was removed from her body, thus preventing Nagato from receiving the signal of his Angel's chakra signature, which was crucial to its functioning.

The other reason was, and Nagato just prayed that it won't be, that his Angel has passed on, thus not having any chakra left which her labret piercing could use to transmit its location.

Nagato would've killed himself on the spot if Konan had died over at the Fire Country, but because he could not determine if it was the second possibility or the first one, he was forced to keep himself alive. He began heading through the Grass Country at noon, marveling the beautiful, lively sight of the fertilized country. He finally knew how to picture the new world he will create for Konan, a world without war, a world without hatred. He could finally feel peace within himself for the first time in eight years, and that was a feeling he wanted to adopt in order to please his Angel.

At afternoon, the Rinnegan wielder decided to take a stop to work on fixing and repairing Pain's body. While doing so, Nagato had also searched for any valuable fruits and herbs he could eat or squeeze for drinking. Even though he had extreme durability when it came for food since his emaciated body did not require much, going twenty four hours without eating was something even he couldn't bear. Yet thanks to the rich environment of the Grass Country, he was able to more than satisfy his appetite.

It was a shame that the Rain Country wasn't as vivid and fertilized as this country.

And so passed the rest of the day and came the sunset. It was Nagato's first time watching that marvelous sight of the sun descending over the horizons, painting the sky in a glowing aura of yellow, orange, and red. He wondered if Konan was now watching the sunset as well, if she's even awake, if she's even alive, yet the moment the thoughts of whether she's alive or not entered his mind, Nagato pushed them aside.

He focused his chakra all day on repairing the Deva Path, resulting in him being exhausted as the sun finally set. The price was, however, worth it- the Deva Path was transmitting a faint signal from around the center of the Fire Country. He wasn't on the move as well, which meant that this was Nagato's final destination.

Having discovered his cherished Path's location, Nagato decided that there was no time to rest and began heading towards the borders of the Grass Country, noting how beautiful it was at night, the voices of the animals around chiming through his ears.

He finally reached the Fire Country after two hours from that very moment, before deciding the set himself up beneath a large tree over the border and again attempt to repair the Deva Path, knowing that there is no time to waste.

* * *

The sun was again rising up from above the horizon, marking the beginning of a new day, again painting the sky in beautiful yellow-orange aura, the forest of the Fire Country filling up with the sounds of bird chirps and brewing breeze, rustling through the golden leaves on the many tall and short trees filling it.

And soon, the sun rose again above the Fire Country, lighting up the forest in its true color, painting the trees in a beautiful green color, causing the leaves to shine brightly and reflect its light.

The Rinnegan wielder's eyes snapped open, his jaw dropping in disbelief, feeling that now his chakra was slowly streaming down properly to the Deva Path, clearing up the signal he was emitting. _'T-This is it! The Deva Path is functional again!' _Nagato thought in relief, not spending another second as he closed his eyes and began re-establishing the chakra connection he had with Pain, hoping that once he wakes up in his destination, he will be welcomed by the sight he hoped to see so much- his Angel.

* * *

Pain's eyes slowly squinted, his sight completely blurred as he slowly adjusted to the very dim light in the room. _'What is this place?' _He thought drowsily as he lifted his upper body upwards from a mattress he was resting on, slowly moving away a thick, white blanket which covered his body to his shoulders.

The Rinnegan wielder blinked a few times, noting that his sight was slowly getting clearer and clearer. His chakra connection with Nagato was beginning to stabilize, and soon Pain was able to look around clearly. _'This…this place is…' _He thought, eyes widening when he realized that he was in a room.

To be more precise, he was in a large cell block, with stoned floor, walls and ceiling. A barred door was also present among the many prison-metal bars which were forming the main wall infront of him, blocking him from the main lobby of wherever he was.

Pain instantly shook his head, noting that he has no time to admire his imprisonment as he began looking all over frantically, tears of panic standing in his eyes. He locked his Rinnegan with a bed, which was at the other side of the room, widening his eyes to full extent and dropping his jaw, recognizing the figure present in there.

'_M-My Angel!'_

Pain instantly threw away the blanket from his body and shot upwards, spotting Konan at the other side of the cell, in her so-familiar sleeping position. Her head was resting on a white pillow with a white blanket covering her to her shoulders, a deep flush on her face.

Pain gasped loudly and was instantly two inches from his sleeping Angel at the sight of her flush, indicating that her body temperature was high. He quickly moved away the blanket which was covering Konan's body, tears of happiness rolling down his cheeks when he put his palm on Konan's forehead. It was boiling, and as soon as it made contact with Pain's palm, the Angel's peaceful dozes turned into a faint, peaceful smile, bringing up more tears from Pain's eyes.

She was still wearing her Akatsuki cloak, which was no longer tainted heavily with her blood; the three holes which were formed in the cloak when Zetsu's blades impaled her abdomen were now stitched together and fixed, motioning that someone was working on that cloak. Konan's skin color was back to its normal, pale form, and in addition her labret piercing was removed from her lower lip…it was taken out after all.

Happy and relieved like he was never before in his entire life, Pain began crying from happiness as he slowly flipped his Angel so she was now lying on her back, her front body turned to him, allowing him to drop to his knees as he bended forward and softly wrapped his arms around her, burying his head in her shoulder. His sob strengthened, feeling her breath and her heartbeats, the warmth of her body traveling across his as their cheeks rested against each other.

'_Thank goodness…thank goodness! Thank you Kami, thank you Yahiko…She's breathing! My Angel is alive!'_

He didn't know how much time was passing by, he didn't even care either, locked in a one-sided hug with his alive, sleeping Angel, his eternal, endless happiness growing ever bigger with every breath she took. This was it, this was the epitome of all his happiness, of all his relief, of his comfort, hearing her breathe after what she was put through…seeing her smile after all she was put through…it melted his heart slowly, causing him to tighten his hug.

Pain suddenly perked up when he felt two arms wrapping around his body, one on his upper back and one around his shoulders, both of them folding their forelimbs upwards to clutch his spiky, orange hair, shaking and wobbling, bringing up more tears from the eyes of the Rinnegan wielder. He removed his head from Konan's shoulder, locking his relieved Rinnegan with Konan's weak, squinted eyes, which were as well filled with tears. A relieved, happy, yet devastated snarl was plastered on her face, tears flowing from her eyes, feeling her heart beating erratically into her chest.

Pain pressed his forehead against hers, the two's sobbing turning stronger as they both closed their eyes shut, their tears mixing and merging on Konan's cheeks.

"Konan…" Pain sobbed heavily, his voice almost a whisper, more tears flowing from his eyes as he opened his eyes to look at her sobbing face, watching her slowly squinting her own amber eyes to look at him. There were those few, rare moments when he felt worthy enough to refer to her by her name, which was like a blessing leaving a mortal's lips, a divine phrase that he was unworthy of saying. It was clear now, his Angel was fully conscious, aware of her surroundings, he could see that when her hands began pulling him against her once again, unable to take the emotional stress which was put on her when she gazed into his Rinnegan. "Konan…my Angel…"

"Na…gato…" Konan finally sobbed, barely a whisper as Pain descended on top of her, allowing her to raise her face and bury them into his shoulder, clutching his Akatsuki cloak as she sobbed as much as she could in her current state. Her happiness and relief for waking up in Pain's arms, alive, was currently hiding and covering the increasing pain which was dwelling inside her abdomen.

They stayed silent for a few minutes, crying into each other, their foreheads pressed, their eyes squeezed shut, cherishing the moment as they listened to the other's pants and heartbeats, Pain feeling his Angel's body, finally realizing that she was truly alive, that somehow she managed to survive.

They had now received the chance to restart their life, wipe everything away and bring a new, clean page. Madara and Zetsu were defeated, there was nothing left which would block their change, their new path. He will be able to fulfill his promise to Konan and spend every single minute of his time on making her happy, and she will be able to smile without doubt, without hesitation, knowing that the peace he promised her will come true, knowing that she received her Nagato back.

"Thank goodness…" Pain whispered, his voice shaking from happiness and tears as he caressed her hair, only to bring out more tears as he felt the silky, smooth texture of her blue locks. He breathed her sweet scent, an aroma he hadn't smelled for so long. "My Angel…thank goodness…"

"Na…gato…" Konan squeezed between pants, looking at Pain weakly as she tried to bring the happiest smile she could among her tears. She smiled drowsily at him, and Pain rested his head into her shoulder, allowing her to do the same, their hug slowly tightening. "I'm…so…happy that…you're…alright."

Pain then removed his arms from around Konan's body, perking her weakly before closing his eyes and smiling with immense happiness. He removed his head from her shoulder and slightly lifted his upper body, removing her head from his shoulder before pressing his forehead against hers. He took both of her hands and tightly held them together between his palms.

Konan closed her eyes as well, smiling slightly, the same cheerful, comforting smile that she began using only three days ago, a smile which was triggered by Nagato's change.

For what felt like eternity, the two didn't say a word, they didn't sob or shed tears either, only smiling silently, not saying a word. That was the same moment as two days ago, when no words were needed, when they could speak with their bodies, with their minds.

The entire world slowly faded away for Pain and Konan, who were now only able to think about each other.

"I can't believe you two are finally awake!"

Pain and Konan perked up in surprise, Konan doing it in a weaker form as she squinted her eyes, feeling Pain's body removing itself from her as the Rinnegan wielder was now turned around, with his back facing her. He took a protective stance, looking at the source of the voice, who was behind the barred wall of the room.

Standing in the hallway which Pain was facing was a mid-tall Chunnin with brown skin and a long scar across his face. He had deep-brown hair which was gathered into a spiky ponytail at the back of his head and bore a friendly, knowing smile. He was wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector around his forehead and was dressed in a Konohagakure armor vest, a basic attire of any Konohagakure shinobi.

Pain's eyes widened in shock, realizing that the center of the Fire Country was actually Konohagakure, but there was something else which shocked him even more. _'H-How didn't I notice his chakra?!' _He thought shockingly, seeing that the Chunnin was standing in a too carefree and confident stance, even when he knew that he's facing the leaders of Akatsuki. Yes, _leaders_, Konan is now Pain's partner and co-leader of the organization, now being a lot more than just its "Jewel".

"Looks like that long operation had paid off…"

Konan, who was still resting in the bed behind Pain brought a questioning expression, trying to get up so she could see who was talking with Pain. Suddenly, the Angel cried out and wrapped both arms around her abdomen, slamming her upper body back on the mat as she brought a weak, painful snarl, utterly shocking both of Pain and the Chunnin.

"KONAN!" Pain yelled as he turned around and faced her, bending forward, tears again standing in his eyes, panicking. He saw Konan writhing heavily, squeezing her eyes shut from pain. He instantly bended forwards and held her tightly, and on instincts, she buried her face in his shoulders, clutching his back, taking out the pain from her body and transforming it to his. Now they had both realized that Konan was still bearing that inhuman wound, which she was "blessed" with by Zetsu. "I'm here, Konan, I'm here. Just rest, try to relax, don't push yourself."

The Rinnegan wielder then looked over his shoulder, the panic and confusion taking over him, causing a vicious snarl to appear on his face, a snarl which was directed to the Chunnin. The man took a step backwards in fear, holding both of his hands infront of his body.

"WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE!? WHO ARE YOU!?"

"Hey, hey, relax…" The Chunnin urged frantically, surprised at Pain's massive outburst. He was surprised, yet knew that the Akatsuki Leader's rage was justified. Pain didn't pay note to the fact that the one infront of him could be the one who saved his Angel. "I can understand your anger and short-temper after everything that happened…no one would be able to go through what you two did." The Chunnin said before forming the 'thumbs up' motion, only directing his thumb towards himself as he grinned cheerfully and closed his eyes. Pain's snarl instantly died down, turning into a confused, awed expression. "You are at Konohagakure's medical prison, where prisoners are being put to recover if they were injured somehow, before they're sent to the correctional facility. Forgive us for not being able to find a more honored place for Jiraiya-sama's beloved student, but we had to make sure you two will be resting someplace safe. I am Iruka, a Konohagakure Chunnin. Mostly I'm working as a teacher in the ninja academy…but on this special occasion I was put to watch over the two of you until you wake up."

Pain straightened up and looked at Iruka with questioning eyes, clearly calmed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Iruka. My name is Pain, the Leader of the Akatsuki…" He said, walking back to Konan and kneeling next to her bed. He held her weak hand tightly with both of his, looking at her and smiling lovingly. Konan squinted her eyes to smile at him weakly and nod. "This is Konan…she's my world. I wonder…you mentioned something about an operation earlier…"

Iruka nodded, bringing a small smile. He was not annoyed or frustrated that Pain was looking at Konan while discussing with him. On the contrary- he was even happy, it just went to show how strong the bond those two shared was. "You two were brought here two days ago by Jiraiya-sama. He went out to Amegakure in order to look for the leader of Akatsuki at that time and then came back almost six hours after…carrying the both of you." He explained kindly, widening both of Pain's and Konan's eyes in surprise. He then looked at Konan and frowned, seeing that she looked at him with a nervous, weak expression only for a second before returning to look at Pain. Pain's eyes were now directed to Iruka, letting him know that he wants to hear every detail. "You two were both in a horrible situation…not to mention the leaders of the Akatsuki, but for some reason, it didn't matter to Jiraiya-sama. He wasn't afraid to cause one of the most impacting events in all of Konoha's history for you."

Iruka lowered his head, his eyes hardening, remembering the events which occurred two days ago before he looked at Pain once again and opened his mouth to speak.

* * *

_It has been only six hours since Jiraiya went out in to Amegakure in order to search for the Leader of Akatsuki, who was said to be located in that village._

_Just as those six hours passed, Jiraiya was already back in the village, shocking everyone as he ran through the streets, carrying two, extremely wounded Akatsuki members on his shoulders, snarling from panic with tears flowing through his cheeks._

_He was on his way to Konoha's medical center._

_Many villagers decided to follow him, some of them yelling at him in rage while others simply tried to ask what happened, noting that he was carrying two _Akatsuki members_ on his shoulders. One of the villagers in the confused mob was none other than Umino Iruka._

_Jiraiya had entered the hospital a few minutes later, leaving the villagers in turmoil. He saw that every doctor in the medical center was already fully prepared with a stretcher. They heard the flood of villagers approaching miles away, and decided to act accordingly. A full-equipped medical crew escorted him towards Operation Room number one, where the most serious operations were held._

_Pain was handed by Jiraiya to a different medical crew and was taken to Operation Room number three since his injuries weren't as severe as Konan's. But for some reason, Pain seemed to be…not dead, yet not alive either. The Operation Room will most likely turn into a research room._

_The villagers following Jiraiya stopped in their tracks at the entrance to the hospital, deciding not to overextend in reaction to Jiraiya's surprising return, yet some of the villagers decided to follow Jiraiya straight into the building._

_Konohagakure's hospital was now full of whispers, yells and claims, many villagers were talking to each other as they patiently waited in the main lobby of the hospital, since they were mostly restrained by some of the doctors when turning towards the operation rooms. The doctors claimed that the operation rooms were restricted areas, and were only available for authorized personnel and emergency cases, such as this. The villagers will have to wait in the waiting room of the lobby. _

_If one would peek behind the barrier of doctors, focusing on Operation Room number one, they would've been able to see the Fifth Hokage- Tsunade, leaning against a wall and looking at Jiraiya with a serious, saddened expression._

_And Iruka was one of the villagers who couldn't keep away his curiosity and decided to overlook the conversation. He decided to turn into the hallways of the hospital, knowing that the maze eventually lead to another hallway which connected itself with the operation rooms._

"_I received a message from Shizune…Jiraiya. So…this woman here is…" Tsunade muttered, looking at the panicking, crying Jiraiya, who was carrying a dying Konan in his arms. Konan's abdomen was already a massive pool of blood, the blood leaking into Jiraiya's forelimbs and dripping on the floor. She had already been reported that the woman Jiraiya was carrying is an Akatsuki member, yet just like Jiraiya, she recognized her true identity almost instantly._

_At first, when she was notified of Jiraiya's return, the Hokage was speechless, unable to realize that Jiraiya will return so soon, and with such findings. Nevertheless, she prepared herself mentally and composed herself to deal with such incident, knowing that it's the best to keep calm…but when staring deeply into the eyes of an emotionally-traumatized Jiraiya…she couldn't help but let her resolve slip. "I got here as soon as I heard…" She muttered, seeing Jiraiya's head lowered, his eyes locked with Konan. _

_The sound of four, thin wheels rolling against the floor perked up Jiraiya's and Tsunade's ears, causing both of them to turn their gazes into the far side of the hallway, spotting a few nurses running towards them, carrying a rolling hospital bed. "Quick, Jiraiya-sama, we'll get her into nursing. Tsunade-sama, if you can join us…I think there's still time to save her!" One of the nurses yelled frantically, perking up Jiraiya. The nurse then looked at Konan, her eyes highly doubting whether she may truly be saved in such condition._

_Without hesitation, Jiraiya rested Konan on the bed, looking at her with tear-filled eyes as her head rested itself against the pillow, the blood beginning to spill from her abdomen into the mattress. "I entrust her life in your hands for now…" He muttered, his voice a weak sob as he put his hand on Konan's forehead, waiting a few seconds before removing it and allowing the nurses to proceed into the operation room, further down the hallway._

"_It's really her…right?" Tsunade asked, bringing up a small, nostalgic smile as she closed her eyes, seeing Jiraiya's gaze still locked with the nurses, who were now entering the operation room. "That woman is one of the three orphans we met at Amegakure…so that means those three were alive after all…I'm glad…"_

_Her expression then hardened, perking up Jiraiya from his sobbing. He couldn't find the force to talk, not now, not while the doctors were desperately trying to keep Nagato's Angel alive. "Please…Tsunade-hime…I will explain everything later…just please…" Jiraiya sobbed, burying his face in his hands as he sat down on the waiting bench right next to the operation room's door, still hearing the frantic yells and sobs of the medical crew inside. "The medical crew won't be able to save her on its own! Only you have enough experience to really take care of that wound! Please, Tsunade-hime, I know she's a member of the Akatsuki…but you must treat her!"_

_He could feel Tsunade's footsteps getting closer to him, and before he knew it, she was facing him, looking at him from above, her shadow blocking the hospital's light. Jiraiya slowly removed his face from his hands, his shocked eyes locking with Tsunade's saddened glare. "Jiraiya…I am happy that you discovered they were alive all this time…and that you saw them once again. I don't know what exactly happened there…" Tsunade muttered hatefully, a bit of sadness in her nostalgic voice. Jiraiya's eyes slowly widened. "But…facts are facts, Jiraiya. Those two…whoever they were then, they're now members of the Akatsuki…nothing can justify this fact, Jiraiya…not only that, they are the _leaders _of Akatsuki! You brought here the enemies of this village! The leaders of that criminal organization we were fighting to protect our village from! What were you thinking?!"_

"_I COULDN'T LET MYSELF LEAVE THEM BEHIND! AND I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE THE LEADERS OF AKATSUKI!" Jiraiya roared out in pain, shocking Tsunade as he stood up and snarled at her with cold, crying eyes. "They're still the same…Tsunade-hime, they are still the pupils I used to love…we are still a family…They haven't changed at all, and that is good enough for me. If you don't believe in them…believe in me. All I ask is for you to save Konan…"_

_Tsunade snarled at him frantically, wanting to hear everything that happened before she makes her decision. The horrible amount of despair and sadness in Jiraiya's additional words terrified her. She had never heard such a tone coming from that enthusiastic, immature friend she had known since her childhood. "Jiraiya…I want to hear everything first!" She commanded, her tone unforgiving and angered. "I will not treat Konan until yo-"_

_Before Tsunade knew it, Jiraiya's palm thrust itself against her throat, the Toad Sage hypertilating as he slammed her body against the wall of the hospital and cracking it from the force. Tsunade cried out in pain, her squinted eyes seeing Jiraiya lifting his hand and clenching it into a hard fist, looking at her with unfocused, sobbing eyes, tears still rolling down his cheeks._

_Tsunade closed her eyes, expecting the worst, and before she knew it, Jiraiya punched the wall right next to her, a few inches away from her face, shattering that portion of the wall completely with brute force. Tsunade's eyes widened at his surprising strength, let alone Iruka's eyes, which were now as wide as his dropped jaw._

_Jiraiya was looking at the floor, hypertilating, pupils not visible within his black irises. "When I thought those three orphans died…the shame and guilt was eating me alive…you know what I went through more than anyone else…you understand how it feels to lose someone so dear to you…" He muttered weakly, eyes returning to focus as he looked at Tsunade with cold, serious expression, still tearing. "I have abandoned them when they were young…I left them in that horrible country…it was my role as their foster-father to protect them and help them grow…I didn't acknowledge that we were a family…I made a mistake…if anyone is to be blame…it is me…that is why I don't give a damn that they are members of Akatsuki…and so should you!"_

"_Get…your hands…off me!" Tsunade roared, clutching Jiraiya's wrist with both of her hands as she tried crushing it as much as she could. She ignored his emotional words, she only treated the way he was forcing her down. "You expect such actions to make me treat a member from Akatsu-"_

"_SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

_Tsunade's eyes widened in complete horror, looking at Jiraiya's deep, enraged snarl. He was panting and gasping, exhausted from all the sensation. He then perked up, realizing how far he's going as he removed his hand from Tsunade's throat and looked at the ground._

_Tsunade only then noticed that the hand which was holding down her throat was covered with Konan's blood, and it slowly began leaking down to her cleavage. "You…heartless monster…how can you say such a thing after what _you _went through?" Jiraiya asked, his voice unfocused and saddened, disgusted and angered as well. "I swear...I swear to Kami...for every drop of blood that Konan loses...YOU WILL LOSE A TENFOLD AMOUNT!"_

_Tsunade's eyes widened in horror and shock, trying to struggle against Jiraiya's hold. Yet the Fifth Hokage, one of the most powerful Shinobi in existence, were unable to digest the fact that even with two of her palms viciously clutching down Jiraiya's hand, the Toad Sage's hold didn't slip the slightest bit. She could only feel Konan's blood crawling through her body, whispering despair and darkness into her ears._

_"I will not stand here...I will not watch as Konan dies..." Jiraiya muttered, panting and gasping, trying to control his bizzare temper. Both of him and Tsunade knew that the Toad Sage never felt like this before- it was a side of him neither of them saw, and were not willing to get to know better. It was the side which was still present in Jiraiya throughout the Second Great Shinobi World War, when he left Tsunade and Orochimaru in order to take care of the three orphans. It was a side that was extremely respected by Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, a side which was merely the shadow of his usual, perverted behavior._

_A side he wanted to neglect, and for good reasons._

"_All those years I believed the rumors…and today, when I reached Amegakure…I have encountered Konan and Nagato once again…sure…they have both fallen into Akatsuki, going as far as to leading it…but who am I to judge them?! Who am I to blame them?!" Jiraiya exclaimed, his voice shaking from despair and devastation. The thoughts of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan kept roaming through his mind, eating him alive. "You know nothing of their pain, of what happened after I left them to rot…I do…Nagato had told me that Yahiko died…and that Konan is his world…he entrusted her life in my hands…while he was still wearing his Akatsuki cloak."_

_Tsunade's eyes fully widened in disbelief and shock, her jaw dropping. Even though she really didn't know which one among the orphans was Yahiko, the thought of the two orphans left witnessing his death was shattering her heart apart. "Despite that fact, that their world must've collapsed on top of them when Yahiko died...Konan waved at me and smiled when I first saw her…she even screamed at me…the happiness in her voice…while she was still dressed in her Akatsuki cloak…she still cried and thanked me when I told her I'll rescue her…even while she was dressed in her Akatsuki cloak…I cannot describe the bond Nagato shared with Konan and Yahiko in words…but I had never imagined once that Nagato would entrust the lives of either of them in my hands…let alone after Yahiko's death." Jiraiya continued, his hold around Tsunade's throat weakening, together with Tsunade's clutch on his hand. He wasn't focused on chocking the life out of her anymore, and you could see that by the tears standing in the corners of his eyes and rolling down his cheeks. "I cannot explain to you what happened now…it will take too long…but I give you my word that those two hadn't changed…and if…if Konan dies under my hand…I won't be able to take this anymore…when Nagato finds out what happened…when he realizes that Konan is-"_

_A loud slap echoed through the hallways of the hospital, silencing every single sound patrolling it. Iruka's eyes were fully widened, staring at Tsunade, who had just slapped Jiraiya as hard as she could, watching him letting go of her neck and stepping a few steps backwards, his head tilted to the side and his body trembling._

"_You call yourself a father?!" Tsunade exclaimed angrily, glaring at Jiraiya, who was now rubbing his throbbing cheek, looking at her with shocked, disbelieved eyes. Jiraiya's words triggered something in her mind, and when she saw her childhood comrade bringing up that cold, devastated snarl a few minutes ago, something he had never done before, she knew that something must be done. "Sitting here and whinnying like a four year old when your 'daughter' is dying in the room next to you!? DISGRACEFUL! Now, you will be coming with me to the operation room _this instant_! You can explain me everything that happened later!"_

_Jiraiya's eyes slowly widened to full extent, tears again standing in his eyes. He jaw slowly dropped, a storm of emotion quarreling within him. He gazed at her with a buffed expression, disbelieved by her words. "Y-You'll rea-"_

"_COME ON!"_

_Iruka could only watch as Tsunade grabbed Jiraiya and entered the operation room, the Toad Sage willingly following her. Many cheers emerged from within the doors, belonging to the doctors and nurses who just saw the two emerging into the room._

_The two doors then closed, leaving only dead silence brushing through the empty hallway, and Jiraiya was able to see no more._

* * *

"The operation went for nearly thirteen hours…" Iruka continued sadly, looking at the shocked Akatsuki couple. "At the end of it, Hokage-sama, with the help of Konoha's medical crew, managed to stabilize your condition. Your life is no longer in danger, but you are still recovering from the operation. I'm no doctor, but I would advise you to rest as much as you can. This is one hell of a wound, I have never met someone who survived such an injury. You are lucky to be alive…but there is a price. I'm afraid your body will never be the same again…"

Pain looked at Konan with a warm, comforting expression, seeing that she was looking at him with saddened eyes, with disappointed eyes. She was so depressed and hurt about receiving her wound, knowing that she was basically incapacitated, but she wasn't worrying about what was going to happen to her- the wound and her incapacitation may cause her to be a burden on Nagato, a burden more than she already was. "Don't worry, my Angel." He said lovingly, caressing her hair before wrapping both of his arms around her body, allowing her to rest her head into his shoulder and sob weekly. She was still not used to a display of such affection and love from her Nagato, making her even happier. "I'll help you as much as I can. In any way possible…even after that wound is healed up. I promise…"

"Yeah…now let me tell you the bad news." Iruka muttered with a concerned, joking smile, rubbing the back of his head, hesitating. From Pain's widened, horrified eyes, which were expecting the worst, and Konan's scared, devastated expression, he knew that he should just let Tsunade brief them in. "…I don't think I can say it correctly. The point is that Hokage-sama managed to stabilize your condition, and that's what important. Maybe she's the one who should tell you everything you need to know."

"What do you mean?" Pain asked, turning his look away from Konan for a short period of time to look at Iruka with a questioning expression.

"Hokage-sama told me to watch over you until you wake up," Iruka mentioned again, looking at Pain with a smile as he opened the cell's barred door, the metallic sound of it echoing through the room. Pain perked up, noticing that the cell's door wasn't actually locked- they weren't here as prisoners. "She told me to escort the both of you towards the hospital once you wake up so she can discuss with you and evaluate Konan's condition. I'm clearly not the one who should be talking now."

Konan looked at Pain with a begging, apologizing expression, causing the Rinnegan wielder to perk up before bringing up his signature, warm smile. He wrapped both of his arms around her body once again, allowing her to cry into his shoulder for the millionth time as she clutched his upper back with her hands. "Everything is alright…my Angel," He comforted softly, caressing her blue hair before he removed her face from his shoulder and pressed his forehead against hers, knowing that it the ability to stare deeply into his eyes always comforted her, just like how it comforted him. "Everything is alright, please do not cry."

Konan opened her eyes weakly, tears rolling down her cheeks before she closed them again, trying to fend off the sadness as much as she could. She still couldn't believe she would turn into more of a burden on Nagato, she wasn't willing to do that. Iruka realized those two needed some time alone, and therefore exited the cell, leaving the barred door opened behind him. "Take as much time as you need, I will be waiting outside." His voice echoed through the room as a sound of a closing wooden door could be heard, and after it, silence.

"Nagato…" Konan sobbed weakly, guilt and regret eating her as she pressed her face into Pain's neck, feeling him moving both of his arms behind her own. "I'm…so…sorry…"

The Rinnegan wielder caressed her blue, silky hair as he bended backwards, still holding her tightly, causing her to wince heavily into his neck as she felt his strong arms supporting her back, and before she knew it, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, panting and gasping. "How dare you apologize for such a thing?" Pain asked softly, smiling sadly as he let her cry into his chest, clutching the front part of his Akatsuki cloak, shaking from sadness. "There is no reason to apologize…if at all, I am the one who should apologize to you…it was all my fault. If I hadn't agreed to your offer and wouldn't have sent you to battle that bastard…it would've ended differently. I'm sorry for causing you all this pain…I'm sorry for everything I have done to you…"

Konan perked up and removed her face slowly from his chest, looking at him with shocked, widened eyes, still filled with tears, his everlasting smile melting through her. "From here on…I will protect you…" Pain muttered comfortingly as he closed his eyes, feeling warm, glowing shivers throughout his body as he hugged his Angel's shocked face to his neck and buried his chin in her hair. "I will wipe away your painful, hopeless memories with ones of happiness and love…I have already told you- you are my world, you are my happiness, you are my love. You are everything to me, Konan."

Her name…her name always rocked his body, melting him down and sending shivers and thrills throughout it. It brought the same reaction from her, her name mingling with his charming voice sent her over the edge of emotions.

The Angel and the Rinnegan wielder remained glued together in a hug, listening to each other's heartbeats, the dead silence not daring to interfere, not wanting to interfere. There was nothing needed to be said, there was no use for words now.

After barely ten minutes, the silence finally cracked once Pain lifted his chin from Konan's hair, causing her to look up was him with a questioning, warm expression, her amber irises had changed since the last two days. They were now barely shimmering, filled with hope and happiness, filled with love, being able to melt through Nagato's eyes with a single glance, lightening up his soul.

"My Angel…I want to see if you can walk." Pain suddenly claimed softly as he stood up, perking Konan in fear. Her expression was now a concerned, scared one, filled with hesitation towards Pain's requests. She was scared, she was scared to move, she was scared of the pain so much that her body was shaking from the thought of even moving. She had never felt like that before, she was never so afraid from being hurt. Surely the inhuman pain she had experienced once she was injured by Zetsu would make her think of lesser pains as nothing, but in fact- the opposite happened.

Pain noticed her fear, and bended forward again, wrapping both of his arms around her as he rested his chin on her shoulder, closing his eyes, assuring her, strengthening her, encouraging her. He knew that he needed to make up for the love and warmth she lacked for eight years, since Yahiko's death, that he need to let her know that he's there for her in every single opportunity. "Do not worry…" He muttered softly in her ear, his voice filled with comfort, melting down Konan as her eyes widened.

"I am here to catch you if you fall…"

Konan's eyes widened again, her expression shocked at his words. All these years she had gotten used to the emotionless, unsupportive, cold monster…now…when her life changed upside down in barely three days, he never failed to shock and melt her with his words…she was so unused to it, and she would love the process of getting used to her Nagato's return.

She parted from the hug, looking at him with her signature, innocent, sly smile as she nodded, knowing that he will always catch her. "Alright," She replied, not a single shade of doubt and fear in her words, filled with confidence and happiness.

She closed her eyes, wincing in great pain as the Rinnegan wielder slowly helped her up, hearing her pant and wince, making sure not to go too fast, going as slow as he could, at the pace her body desired.

Pain frowned when Konan was standing, panting, with a painful snarl on her face. His arm was wrapped around her biceps tightly, helping her to stand, watching as her legs wobbled, shook, trembled in pain, unable to hold out against the horrible pain and the horrible weight of her body.

It was clear- her abdomen muscles were completely ruined, which is why the Angel had such a hard time standing up. After barely a few seconds, Konan cried out in pain as her legs failed her, causing her to fall. She was so shocked, she didn't even start walking and it hurt so much, beyond comprehension.

Pain instantly wrapped his second arm around her, pulling her into a frantic hug. She instantly buried her head in his shoulder and clutched his back, crying weakly at the realization that she was handicapped- unable to barely stand from the pain, she was unable to even hold herself up on her own.

"Kami…" Konan sobbed heavily, clutching Pain's upper back as she snarled into his shoulders, squeezed eyes filled with tears as her shoulders shook. She had realized that from now own she will not be able to move on her own, she will not be able to defend herself, she will not be able to even stand without help from her Nagato. She will be a burden on him from now on, she will make him growl in frustration when she'll want him to help her stand and sit, she will make him angered when she'll simply want to walk, he will have to help her with everything, and he will be so mad at her weakness, which had now increased beyond her-

Konan perked up when Pain moved his left forelimb behind her knees, bending as much as he could before moving resting his right arm on her upper back. With one, swift move of both arms, the utterly shocked Angel ended up in his arms, her body being carried by them.

Konan's eyes widened and her jaw dropped, shocked and astonished as she gazed deeply at Pain's warm, loving smile, filled with comfort and assurance. He closed his eyes, his smile growing bigger when even more tears rolled down his Angel's cheeks.

She could only imagine what his real answer will be like, what his real resolve will be like. How twisted her assumptions and her realizations were. "Do not cry, my Angel…" Pain assured comfortingly, softly, tears standing at the corners of his eyes. "If your condition does not improve…I will take care of you, I will help you, I will carry you worry each one of your needs…I will stand up day and night doing anything you ask me to do…because you have done the same for me all this time…for years…no matter how horribly I treated you in return…that is the least I can do to let you know that I am forever thankful that you were able to stay sane and determined even when I tried to take you down like a beast."

Konan began sniffing repeatedly, tears flowing down her cheeks at his comforting, heart-melting words. Seeing that she was in the need for a comfort, Pain raised his right arm upwards, putting her in an angle which allowed her to bury her head in his chest.

"I'm sorry…" She sobbed, her hands resting on his shoulders, feeling his face burying themselves on her head, kissing her hair deeply, comforting her, assuring her. "I'm so sorry for…being a burden…on you…I'm so sorry for…being so weak…I'm sorry…I was always…a burden on you…it was all…my fault that Yahiko died…I was weak…and was taken hostage…by Hanzo…I was weak…and was wounded horribly…by Zetsu…and you were…the one to pay…for my weaknesses…because…I am so weak…and now…I'm even weaker…"

"How can you say such nonsense, my Angel?" Pain snapped softly, perking her up at his disappointed, angered tone, which held so much love and comfort it made her cry even more, disbelieved that his reactions were real. Pain slowly lowered his right arm, wanting to look at her, seeing how she clung into his shoulders with her hands as much as she could until she winced and let go of them.

She was now unable to move her upper body upwards, unable to look away or hide her crying, saddened expression. She didn't want him to see her cry, she had gotten used to hiding her tears from his sight, but with the warm, melting smile he was impaling her with now, eyes filled with love, she let herself cry even more, snarling sadly, unable to squeeze her eyes shut.

His heart was devastated, the sight of his Angel crying had always ruined his soul, ruined his body, bringing in sadness and despair into him, bringing him to the point where he would just want to collapse and cry as well.

He knew that he could not, he could not cry with her because then it will be the end for both of them- when she cries, he must offer her his shoulder with the happiest, most loving smile he can bring, so he could somehow comfort and melt down her sadness despite being ruined himself.

When she cried, he smiled deeply even with his heart shattered…when she smiled…he smiled even more. He would always smile if his smile would somehow be able to comfort her, to bring out her own smile, the smile he was carving so long to see, the smile he was addicted to.

"You are not weak, my Angel…you were never weak, my Angel. For me, you are the strongest being in this entire world. You are not a burden on me, my Angel…because you are my world, you are my everything…you are the one who makes me strong…who gives me my power…you fill me with inner strength and love to you…you strengthen and support me beyond your imagination. You were never a burden on me, my Angel…because all this time, even from when we were kids…when I took care of you…when I protected you…when I loved you…I was happy…and now…when I'm thinking that I will be taking care of you from now one…when I think that I will be protecting you forever…when I think that I will be loving you from now on… I am the happiest being in existence, and there is neither a single one nor a single thing which is happier than me. I will say it again, as many times as you want- you are my world, Konan…I love you."

Pain then sat on the edge of the bed slowly, resting Konan on his lap, allowing her to wrap both of her arms around his shoulders as much as she could and cry into his neck, melted by his words, now crying from happiness, overflowed with his love and comfort. "I love you so much…Nagato…" She sobbed heavily into his neck, nuzzling and snuggling her face into it as much as she could, so glad to have him back into her life. For some reason, she was forced to take short gasps and pants between words, merely the consequences of her abdominal muscles making it hard for her to speak. "You are everything…to me…too. Kami…your presence by my side…is the only thing…keeping me…happy and sane…when you smile…like that to me…I want to…scream in happiness…to cry…you make me…so happy! All these years…I was alone…all these years…your shoulder was not…there for me to…cry on. Now you're back…and all of this feels…like a dream…too good to be…true…yet feels…too real…to be a dream. I have always looked up to you…and Yahiko…I have always wanted to be strong like you two…since Yahiko passed on…my life was ruined…you were not there…I felt so lonely and sad…I felt like I am a burden…I did everything I…could all these years…to make myself…useful…to you…and now with that horrible wound…I feel like…I will be…an even more…of a burden on you. M-My Nagato…I'm so sorry for…thinking like that…I want you to know…that I love you so much…I wish I could…describe my feelings…with words…like you just do…"

"You do not need to…my Angel…" Pain muttered softly, caressing Konan's hair, brushing his fingers through her silky locks. "Emotions are not explained, but are shown…I can see exactly how you feel towards me…and you can see exactly how I feel towards you…"

"I know…" Konan sobbed, sniffing a few times before removing her head from Pain's shoulders and smiling at him as she pressed her forehead against his. "Thank you for being there for me…and thank you for staying there always…I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"You do not need to…my Angel…" Pain repeated softly, lovingly, seductively, his voice sending thrills through her body. He waited a few minutes for his Angel to relax, their emotions sinking into each other.

"Come on, that Chunnin, Iruka, is still waiting for us outside this place..." He suddenly pointed out before he stood up, carrying Konan back in his arms, perking her up, startling her. She smiled at him softly before nodding and snuggling into herself, a drowsy expression spreading on her face. "We'll meet that Hokage so she can evaluate your condition, this is our first priority."

* * *

As Pain exited the prison he and Konan were held in by Tsunade's order until they wake up, carrying a drowsy, almost-sleeping Angel in his arms, Iruka was already waiting for them outside, a big smile on his face.

Pain's eyes squinted at the sudden burst of light coming from the sun. Konan, at that point, was literally drifting between the borders of consciousness and sleep, and was barely able to even open her eyes.

Yet she could still feel the light of the sun bathing on her skin, a feeling she and Pain both hadn't felt for so long.

"Let's go…Hokage-sama is waiting for you at the hospital…"

Pain and Iruka then began jumping from rooftop to rooftop at fast paced speed, making sure to keep away from any contact with villagers. Pain and Konan looked over the village and the forests surrounding it while they were doing so, marveling the vivid, fertile place they woke up in as they were heading closer and closer to the hospital.

Konan still wore her usual clothes- blueish-purple tight pants that continued until her feet, attached to her greyish-white high heels, a small part of the pants at her ankles could be detached in order for her to remove her high heels and stay with her pants. She also wore a tight halterneck shirt. Her arms, shoulders, back, belly and the lateral part of her breasts were exposed by it. At the start of the abdomen, the top split and continued until her ankles as a sort of a dress, yet it still exposed her pants to allow her to move flexibly.

If needed to be removed, her top had a zip that started from the part when her top splits, and continued up to the other side in a straight line.

It was quite a revealing and obscene look that most women will not wear on public, but Konan loved these clothes and were always with them when she needed comfortable clothes for sleeping.

The reason was that these were the clothes he and Yahiko bought for her when Akatsuki was formed, claiming that she'll look better and womanlier with them, knowing that they won't let any other woman join Akatsuki and wanting her to be the "jewel" of the organization. Konan first raged at them for being perverts for whom Nagato countered that it was Yahiko's choice, thus Konan proceed raging at Yahiko. Nagato then told her that she should try the clothes on, and after a small argument, Konan did as Nagato say, knowing that he's not the pervert.

Apparently, she did look amazing with those clothes; they strengthened her womanly features and made her a lot feminine, and she decided to adopt the look. He still remembered how he and Yahiko blushed as she first tried them on.

With her Akatsuki mantle, Konan looked quite gloomy to the outside, but below the gloomy cloak was a whole different world. But Konan could be barely seen with these clothes since most of the time they were hidden by her Akatsuki cloak since the weather at Amegakure didn't quite let her walk with such clothes without catching a cold.

Pain shook his head, noting that he was beginning to fall behind Iruka, who was looking backwards at him often. He could sit and admire the changes in their environment and their life later, for now, he needed to receive as much information about his Angel's wound as he could.

He looked downwards at Konan, noting that she had already fell asleep in his arms, resting the side of her face against his chest, a small, peaceful smile plastered on them. It was no challenge for Pain to see the amount of pain circling her expression, and he knew that it wouldn't be the last he heard from that vicious injury on her body.

With those thoughts, Pain shot through the buildings, noting how exhausted he was since his battle with Madara, mainly due to the fact Nagato spent no time to recover his chakra. Yet he easily caught up to Iruka as they continued heading through the rooftops of the houses towards Konoha's hospital…

And towards Tsunade.

* * *

As I mentioned at the top of the page, due to the fact that this since chapter was _way _too long, I am forced to split it into three chapters. MY GOD, _THREE_, _WHOLE _additional chapters of ANPAL?! This is too good to be true! Well, I did decide that instead of working on a chunk of epicness for almost a month and a half, I will share with you parts of this chapter scattered across the same deadline I planned to post the original Chapter 5.

You can treat those three next chapters as the second part of ANPAL, in which we find and discover more about Pain's and Konan's new beginnings.

The following chapters will be named:

**Chapter 5- A New Path is Opened****! **(The chapter you were currently reading).

**Chapter 6- An Endless Burden, Konan's Despair, Nagato's Hope****! **(The next chapter, hopefully in a few weeks from now).

**Chapter 7- An Unexpected Enemy, Pain and Konan vs.(*Removed due spoilers*)! **(The end of the second Arc (A New Path Arc) and the start of the third Arc, which will be the Arc where Pain and Konan bring changes to other characters and shape their new life).

As you can see, lots of spoilers were meant to appear in the name of Chapter 7...but we say NAY to spoilers! All you can do now is enjoy this soft, squishy chapter until next weak...I apologize.

Well then, I again remind to the many readers that no, Reviews are not my only desire in this story, just as I have said countless of times before! I bid you now farewell, hugging this _**REVIEW**_(now with an additional Italic font for more epicness) button.

Tune in for **Chapter 6- An Endless Burden, Konan's Despair, Nagato's Hope****!** And I will see you again real soon (I hope).

Um...I do feel that saying goodbye is necessary, but I will just immitate the low-rappers by saying **word**!

So, **word **my homies, ForPain out!


	6. An Endless Burden, Konan's Despair!

**Chapter 6- An Endless Burden- Konan's Despair, Nagato's Hope!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden.**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"_Past Speech."_

Hello, hello, and welcome to the sixth chapter of ANPAL. I am very glad to say that we have been reading this story together for a long time now, and I thank in advance to all my readers who helped me along the way (and even those who did not).

Now, this chapter, unlike its previous will be more of a dramatic chapter instead of a romantic one. Also, just like Chapter 5, as much as this chapter seems passive, it WILL be crucial for the plot of the story…heck, every chapter will.

Now, without saying anything else and spoiling the experience, I will allow you to begin reading, and will see you again at the bottom of this web page.

* * *

Konohagakure hospital's hallways were currently deserted, not even a single nurse was seen walking from one room to another, presumably searching for a certain medical tool or her respective doctor. The medical crew of the hospital, by the Hokage's permission, was on a day off from all the sensation they had been going through in the last two days.

The only sound which could be heard was the leaves swaying from side to side in the hospital's garden, which was located in the center of the building for the patient's comfort and convenience. The wind from the garden brew into the hallways from the few opened windows, brushing against the walls of the hallways.

Until it was cut off by the sound of a frustrated groan, which emerged from one of the rooms in the hallways, the room "Hokage-sama" was currently present in.

The room was a rather mid-sized, square-shaped room with a wooden planked, brown-colored floor. The lower parts of the walls was made of green-colored wooden planks, and the room itself had two large beds with a wooden cover next to each other, separated by a white curtain to give the patients who were resting in them some privacy.

There was also a small desk right next to the door, with a single wooden chair at the inner side of it, and two wooden chairs at the opposite side. The surface of the desk was covered with countless of documents, various books, scrolls and sheets in a rather messed form.

Behind the pile of paperwork was a rather frustrated Hokage, glaring at the paper sheets as if they were mocking her. She groaned in frustration once again, irritated, her eyes locked with her paperwork. _'So much work…so many documents…' _Tsunade thought irritatingly, sighing before her fingers fondled with the document sheets. _'Wherever you go Tsunade, always so much work!'_

Tsunade browsed various documents which had the recent information on both Pain and Konan from the operations they were going through, everything they managed to gather about them. She looked deeply at one particular document, which contained the recent results from the cipher division's research on Pain's body. They had said that Pain was basically dead, since he showed any life-signs known to humanity, but however, the information crew was shocked when they discovered that every two hours or so Pain's piercings began getting overflowed with chakra, almost exploding their chakra measurement indicators when they got them near his piercings.

Jiraiya had given Tsunade a clear, direct order before she told him they're going to deepen the research on Pain's body…

"_Tsunade-hime…whatever happens…_do not _remove the piercings…it was what Nagato told me before he…died…and I get the feeling it wasn't really much of a death…this is way more complicated than any of us can comprehend."_

He was right, Pain wasn't really dead, and neither was he Nagato, but he was actually Yahiko's corpse, which had been radiating Nagato's chakra from its piercings. Just like Jiraiya had ordered them, the cipher division did not remove Pain's piercings from his body, rather than just brushed a small scalpel against one of his piercings to collect a small material sample from it. Even that was nearly an impossible task, as Pain's piercings were so formidable and durable that they somehow managed to break and shatter almost every single scalpel coming in contact with them repeatedly.

When they tested it thoroughly, it had been determined that Pain's piercings really _are _chakra receivers, and that they have been picking up Nagato's chakra in the previous few days. Upon a deeper investigation into Pain's body, the crew discovered that Nagato's chakra could not flow into his body smoothly because of the recent physical traumas the body sustained, and thus even Pain was then led to an emergency operation.

Tsunade put the document to the side before continuing to browse deeply through each document, her eyes finally widening when she stared at one of the documents she was looking for. She grabbed it in her right hand and held it against the light, her eyes narrowing as she absorbed every slight detail.

The document held a few sketches of Pain's body in the same stance, each sketch being from a different angle- front, back, and side, with little information written down next to each sketch. But that was the least which was catching Tsunade's narrowed eyes- she was gazing at the many, bright red and white lines running through Pain's body, bended and crossed, connected to various red and white circles which were on his body as well. Pain had one, small circle in each palm, knee and elbow. The Rinnegan wielder also had a single circle at his left chest. There was another, big circle at Pain's upper back, which was however slightly transparent, unlike the other circles. Not all the lines were connected to each circle, but Tsunade had noted that the big circle on Pain's back was connected to every single line running through Pain's body, while most of the lines were connected to the circle in each of his palms. The circle in Pain's chest muscle, however, was connected to fewer, smaller lines.

Tsunade sighed before putting the document back on the messed pile of paperwork scattered across the desk. She had then begun searching for another document, eyes widening again when she found her target after a few minutes and gazed on it as well.

That document had a few sketches of Konan's body in the same stance as Pain's, each sketch being from a different angle as well, and just like Pain's sketch, she had many lines drawn across her body, bended and crossed as well. But unlike the previous sketch, the structure and color of Konan's own lines was different- her lines were in a brighter shade of green and white color, connecting to many circles which were drawn on her body as well.

But for now, that was not what bothered the Hokage, who was looking at the three, deep red dots which were drawn on her lower abdomen in a horizontal line, marking the location of her horrible, mortal wound. The surrounded area of her abdomen was collared in a deep, orange color, which began changing into yellow as it got farther away from the wound's location. Her expression saddened when she dwelled on the moment of the operation. _'How painful it must've been for her at the moment of the injury…' _She thought sadly, noting that by the sketch, Konan's entire body was severely damaged. The Hokage felt like she was filling up with empathy towards the injured Angel, unable to get the thoughts of the first time that she and her companions, Jiraiya and Orochimaru, met the three orphans. _'Poor thing…I feel so sorry for her…if only I had agreed to treat her faster maybe I could've healed a bigger portion of the damage…I can't believe how horrible I acted…'_

Tsunade shook her head viciously, getting the depressing thoughts out of her head as she switched her focus to the many lines drawn on Konan's body. Just like the Rinnegan wielder, the Angel also had a small circle on each palm, which was connected to most of the lines running through her body. Konan also had a single circle on each elbow and knee, just like Pain, and also had a small circle at her left breast. But unlike Pain, Konan had _five _transparent circles on her body- one of them being a mid-sized circle at the center of her torso, three transparent circles surrounding the outskirts of each red dot in her abdomen, and a small circle right at the back of her neck. Those transparent circles were connected to every single line running through Konan's body.

Tsunade chuckled, a small, irritated smirk spreading on her lips as she rested Konan's document back into the pile of paperwork, thinking about Jiraiya. _'You old, lousy pervert…' _She hummed, her smirk growing wider when she began thinking on Jiraiya's antics, only to frown when she had now thought of the Toad Sage himself. _'I can still not believe that you were able to come up with something inhuman as this…and also hide it from me all this time…'_

The Hospital Room's door suddenly began opening slowly, the doorknob shifting ever so slightly before the cricking sound of the door was made, the door itself began moving slowly until it was fully open.

The sound popped Tsunade from her nostalgic, pleasurable thoughts as she lifted her head and gazed at the door, watching as three figures emerged into it.

"In here…" Iruka's voice said, perking up Tsunade heavily just before the teacher walked into the room, shocking the Hokage even more when Pain entered after him, carrying a very tired Konan in his arms. His expression was calm…very irritated, but still calm.

Iruka's eyes met with Tsunade's, Pain doing so as well, causing the Hokage to immediately stiff the recent documents she was looking at under the paperwork to hide them from their sight as much as she could. She couldn't possibly let such a secret to be discovered too soon, not now, not before she had discussed with the Akatsuki couple.

Iruka instantly bowed respectfully, closing his eyes as he dropped to one knee and slammed his fist at the floor respectfully, lowering his head. "Hokage-sama," He started promptly, not looking at her. "I have brought them as you wished…they have woken up forty five minutes ago, exactly."

Tsunade nodded, a small smile tugging her lips as she glanced at Pain, who was examining her deeply, knowing who she was already. Konan, however, seemed to be shocked, looking at her with drowsy, widened eyes. She then returned to look at Chunnin. "Thank you Iruka," She thanked kindly, gratefully, causing Iruka to smile as he stood back up. "That will be all for now. I will call you again when you will be needed. You can return to the Academy and continue regularly until future notice."

Iruka nodded before lowering his head in respect, smiling slightly. "Thank you, Hokage-sama…" He muttered before exiting the room, giving a single, last glance at Pain and Konan before he closed the wooden door behind him, leaving the two leaders of Akatsuki together with Konohagakure's Hokage.

Seeing that Iruka was gone, Tsunade looked at Pain and closed her eyes, tilting her head to the side as she smiled cheerfully, kindly, knowing that she must make a first, good impression. If she is to make the wrong twist of her eyes, or even say the wrong word, she might make herself an enemy of the two people who are eventually to grow and be the world's strongest, most powerful Shinobi.

"Please, have a seat," She offered, her tone chiming with kindness. A small vein of annoyance appeared at the back of her head, concealed to Pain's and Konan's awareness as she heard how horrible her voice sounded when being high-pitched. "We have so much to discuss…"

Pain gave Tsunade an uncomfortable, intimidating frown after looking at his Angel, seeing that her eyes were constantly closing and opening, having a hard time to keep herself awake, let alone notice what's happening around her.

"Don't worry, it's not like I'm going to bite you!" Tsunade joked, getting rather irritated about how the Rinnegan wielder was just looking at her, his eyes filled with distrust. But it was logical, it was logical the leader of Akatsuki will not trust Konoha's Hokage, not after all they did to him.

But what more could she offer?!

Tsunade perked up when, without saying a word, Pain began walking slowly towards the two, empty wooden chairs at the other side of the desk, his eyes never parting from Konan, who was looking at him drowsily before snuggling herself slightly in his hold.

Once he was next to the chairs, Pain slowly lowered his head so his lips were next to Konan's ears. "I'll help you sit," He whispered softly, not wanting to either startle her or refresh her, knowing how tired she was right now. He slowly lowered his arms, watching Konan bracing herself as she clung onto his shoulders weakly, her hands barely holding up as the Rinnegan wielder rested her on the right chair softly, being as careful and gentle as he could.

Without hesitating, Pain took his seat on the left chair while moving closer to Konan, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as her eyes squinted again. She was so tired her amber irises were watering, she was getting memory spans, having difficulty to remember what was happening a few seconds ago, when they stepped into the room. She was having difficulty shoving away the stiffs of yawns as well.

"You're really tired, aren't you?" Tsunade chimed cutely, bending forward to get a closer look on the Angel, who was now perking up in nervousness before her weak flush deepened. Pain glanced at Konan and smiled when she weakly removed her head from his shoulder to straighten herself, shaking her head slightly to get rid of the drowsiness, something that didn't seem to help at all. "Don't worry, it because the great amount of damage and blood-loss your body sustained. The tiredness should go away in a day or two, depends on how much sleep you can get and on how fast you recover."

"We will be happy to discuss with you about whatever you wish to discuss…later." Pain growled in annoyance, knowing what should've been made a first priority by now as he rested Konan's head back on his shoulder, wanting her to rest as much as she could. "First thing first, I apologize for the impatience, but I will be forced to urge you to check and evaluate her condition…we may have a discussion later."

"I wish to discuss with you at first…" Tsunade chimed sarcastically, smiling at Pain with closed eyes. The Rinnegan wielder knew she was so close to cracking, her smile was now looking more like a twitching frown, even more horrible than a glare. "We will start by introducing ourselves…I know that I have met you long ago on…worse circumstances…and I know many things have changed majorly since the last time we met…but let's open a new page- I am Tsunade, an expert medical-nin and Konohagakure's Hokage…I am pleased to meet you again after so long."

The Hokage then frowned darkly, a serious expression wiping away the fake, kind smile as she glared at the Rinnegan wielder. "You two have changed so much since I last saw you…" She muttered seriously, causing Pain to frown as he moved his eyes from Konan to her. "Pure, innocent orphans…turning into the leaders of the S-ranked Criminal organization- Akatsuki, who is mostly built from missing-nins and traitors, kidnapping and killing Jinchuuriki as if they were animals to be slain!"

Pain could see Konan's eyes widening slowly, listening to Tsunade's words. Seeing her talking like that and disturbing Konan, the Rinnegan wielder's serious expression turned into a hard, cold glare, one which caused Tsunade to perk up and widen her eyes, feeling like holes are being pierced through her body, unable to look away.

"So this is how a Konoha Shinobi defines "opening a new page"…I should've expected this…" Pain growled, perking Konan, who removed her head from his shoulder to look at him with concerned eyes. She knew exactly how much hatred and grudge he was holding for Konohagakure. "You fumble in the dark of my story…of _my Angel_'s story…yet you dare throwing such claims at us…no, you have the right to throw such claims at _me_, for I was the leader of Akatsuki in the past eight years…but here you are accusing my Angel for something she hadn't even done. You are the one who saved her, and for this I owe you a debt that I cannot ever repay and cannot thank you enough…yet I will still not tolerate any acts of hatred like this! I come before you…the leader of Konohagakure, the village that caused me and my Angel so much pain, pain beyond your imagination- started a war, killed so many innocent lives, tore apart families with no mercy, only for your pathetic selfishness towards your nation…yet here you are, unable to rise above those feelings of grudges and hatred towards what Akatsuki once used to be, starting to rant and scold before the conversation even began, before you have even heard anything from our side. You…disgust me…Tsunade."

Konan smiled weakly, drowsily before returning her head to rest against Pain's shoulder. The Rinnegan wielder knew how to talk so well, her Nagato knew how to talk so well. Tsunade can make a conversation with him, he can give her a speech. It wasn't so difficult since Nagato was mostly involved with solving political conflicts in the original Akatsuki, given him an excellent, silver tongue…and a high vocabulary as well.

Yet at that point, Konan was even thinking that he'll engage her directly because of his hatred towards Konoha, but it surprised even her that he was able to rise above the feelings of hatred towards Konoha this once…her life just kept getting better and better, such a major change within such a short while.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to offend and cause a feeling of discomfort and hatred…maybe I was unclear, I have only wanted to know about the process of you becoming the leaders of Akatsuki, a thing which I found so shocking…" Tsunade replied, noting how formally Pain talked towards her as she decided to do the same. She was completely shocked at how Pain managed to stir something in her, causing her heart to freeze and her body to shiver with his claims and accusations. "As you know, it was your teacher, Jiraiya, who brought you here…he had convinced me into believing that you two have changed, and I do want to believe in that with my whole heart…but I find a logic gap between events, I am only requesting for you to inform me about the said events…"

There was a long silence, each passing second could be heard from the clock at the desk, the sound of it prodding and probing into Pain's ears as he lowered his head slightly, too slightly for Tsunade to notice but too heavily for Konan, causing the Angel's expression to turn concerned again.

"Please forgive me for sounding ungrateful and rude…but I have been spending two days checking on you and Konan's progression, Nagato. I have also wasted thirteen hours standing on my feet with the rest of the medical crew and your teacher in order to save Konan from death." Tsunade urged, causing Konan to feel even more uncomfortable, watching how Pain's expression hardened upon the use of her name by Tsunade. "I believe you owe me this much of an explanation, if not more…"

"I believe Jiraiya-sensei had already filled you up with enough information about us," Pain muttered promptly, Konan could tell he's nervous and uncomfortable with dwelling back on their history. "I do not want to dwell myself on such things, I will keep it brief…After Jiraiya-sensei had left us by ourselves, the three of us founded Akatsuki, an organization supporting peace among the five great nations of the war…many people joined our cause and we have achieved fame and respect throughout Amegakure, and were eventually approached by Hanzo. He told us that he wishes for a cooperation to help stabilizing peace between the nations, telling us to carry out his words and offers…but that was just nonsense. At some point, when we were on a mission to solve a political agreement with one of Amegakure's neighbor nations, Hanzo ambushed us, together with Danzo Shimura…the leader of your village's so called "the Root"."

Tsunade perked up at Pain's claim, shocked, disbelieved that Danzo had ever done such a thing. Konan lowered her head slightly, saddened when she saw invisible anger in Pain's expression, causing him to glance at her, bringing her head up when he smiled lovingly. "You…know about the Root?!" She asked weakly, her voice shocked and disbelieved. Konan smiled slightly- Pain knew a lot more than Tsunade would be able to even comprehend.

Pain then glanced at Konan, looking for her approval to continue. He knew how horribly Yahiko's death impacted her, and knew how speaking of it traumatizes her emotionally, forcing her to dwell into such nightmares. However, Konan looked at Pain with her own signature smile, nodding, giving him her approval to continue.

"It was all a trap…it was all a trap laid by Hanzo to dispose our organization." Pain continued as he looked at Tsunade with a serious expression, causing her to perk up in shock. She didn't know such a thing. Of course, Jiraiya had known little of what happened to those two after he left, and still it was within the title of 'theory', yet she never expected something like this to happen. "He saw us as a threat to his power and claimed that we are to be eliminated…he kidnapped Konan, my Angel, and took her hostage. Yahiko was the leader of our organization, thus Hanzo claimed that he must die or Konan will be the one to achieve that fate…just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…"

Pain lowered his head slightly, allowing himself to dwell on the moments of his second greatest pain, second only to what he had done to Konan all these years. Konan noticed that immediately and, being refreshed a little, raised his head up by resting her own against his shoulder again. Pain looked at her comforting smile, getting the courage which he was carving for to continue the story. "Hanzo gave me a kunai and ordered me to _kill _Yahiko…" Pain muttered, widening Tsunade's eyes in disbelief as she bended closer, a sad expression slowly spreading on her face. Konan was looking saddened as well, trying to keep herself from dwelling on that moment. "Konan told the both of us to leave her and run…Yahiko told me to kill him so the both of us could live…it was a horrible, one I do not want any human being to experience…I had to choose between Yahiko and my Angel…and Yahiko knew that I wasn't going to make the choice…so he made the choice for me…"

The three then lowered their heads, all saddened, Tsunade realizing what Pain meant. Pain looked at Konan, bringing up a sad, comforting smile when he saw tears were standing at the corners of her eyes. She had turned to be extremely emotional after the recent trauma she had been through, and Pain knew that, and he approved nevertheless, who wouldn't be emotionally-sensitive and prone to crying?

He rested his hand against Konan's cheek, perking her up, causing her to look at him with an apologetic and concerned expression, realizing that he had already wiped the tears standing at the corner of her eyes, smiling his signature smile at her. This had caused her, again, to turn her mood upside down and bring her own smile, knowing that Yahiko wouldn't want her to mourn him for the rest of her life.

"What happened then?" Tsunade muttered, lowly, nervously. She really felt uncomfortable with prodding and nudging Pain to continue his story, but she was really interested in hearing it all, to the final detail.

"We severed our ties with Amegakure…I gave up my resolve to bring peace…anything else concerning that is none of your business…" Pain muttered rudely, glaring slightly at Tsunade. Konan looked at Pain with a comforting expression, knowing that after that came all these horrible years in which he treated her like nothing, that after that came his third, and greatest pain- the pain of hurting her. "Dark years came afterwards…and just a few days ago everything had changed...I will not tell you any more, this is all I have to say."

"I understand, I will not stick my nose any further, the rest is probably a personal and a sensitive spot." Tsunade muttered kindly, looking at Pain with a comforting smile, only able to comprehend how much the Rinnegan wielder had been through. "Now…for a different subject, just to confirm our theories and suspicions…"

Pain's look hardened, irritated that more questions are being asked. He was getting impatient and uncomfortable, wanting Konan's wound to be treated and evaluated as fast as possible, wanting to see the damage done to his Angel. "If you are wondering about my outer appearance, referring to my piercings, my resemblance to Yahiko while bearing my Rinnegan, that is something you will have to figure out on your own." He answered simply, having no intention of throwing a bone at the Hokage.

"You have Yahiko's body, or to be more precise, Yahiko's corpse, which is attached with multiple chakra receivers in the forms of piercings throughout your body." Tsunade started, smirking at her victory, perking up Pain at the quick exposure and analysis of his identity. His eyes then hardened, remembering that the Deva Path's body was incapacitated for two days, which is enough to examine his body and discover its secrets. "Those chakra receivers are receiving chakra from an outer source not far from here, that chakra is flowing through your body, enabling you to move and act like a living being…since Yahiko is dead, and Konan is here…then that must means that the outer source, in other words- the real you, is Naga-"

Pain shot her an enraged glare, freezing the Hokage in her tracks, widening her eyes and dropping her jaw. "Even though the fact you have managed to discover my identity, I do not care what you think, I do not care what you assume…yes, I am Nagato, but while using this body, I urge and demand from you to call me _Pain_." He snapped angrily, not wanting anyone aside from Konan to refer to him by his soul's name, by his real name. "You, the leader of Konohagakure, the people who had brought so much pain and suffering upon me and my Angel, who were the ones to announce the war which took away our parents and forced us to wander Amegakure with no food or shelter…you…you will not dare to refer to me by my real name. You are unworthy, you are tainted with my parents' blood, with _Yahiko's _blood, and so are your people and Danzo of the Root. If I would've still been blinded with revenge and would've woken up, I would've destroyed this village…forgive me for mentioning that."

"You couldn't destroy this village…you don't have the power to do it."

A long silence passed through the hospital room, Pain looking at Tsunade with curious, questioning eyes. Konan looked at Pain with a shocked, concerned expression, disbelieved at Tsunade's words. Tsunade lowered her head slightly at her horrible mistake, knowing that there is no turning back from that point.

"Look at your palms…" Tsunade added, looking at both Pain and Konan, who were now looking deeply at their palms, widened Rinnegan and Amber eyes glancing deeply into black circles. "We have taken every countermeasure and prepared for the worst…those black circles in your hands are seals applied to you by your teacher, Jiraiya. They will prevent your body from molding chakra or performing any drastic physical movements like punching or kicking. If you try to fight or perform any hostile activities while those seals are applied to you, the seals will simply send a huge shock signal through your body and you will both end up fainting a second after."

Konan's eyes widened even more in fear, realizing what that means. Pain, however, expressed it through physical movements and words, shooting up from his seat and slamming both of his palms at the desk, enraged, snarling at Tsunade, who only ended up backing from her seat, feeling intimidated.

Even when he was unable to battle, the Rinnegan wielder could easily install and mount fear and terror into his targets with ease. Tsunade was just another subject.

Konan had to admit, whenever it came to glares or snarls, her Nagato was the master- his Rinnegan, when glancing deeply into you, could either bring deep warmth and love or extreme coldness and hate, all he had to do is to just look, and his powers will take care of the rest.

Pain realized why he wasn't able to notice Iruka's chakra earlier- the powers of his Rinnegan were blocked and sealed by those seals applied to him by Jiraiya. "You have put us in the middle of an enemy country, while my Angel is injured and recovering, at the middle of Konohagakure…" He deadpanned, growling, enraged and angered at Tsunade's acts. "And in addition, you put these burdens on our hands, which will prevent us from protecting ourselves, prevent _me _from protecting _my Angel_!"

"You must calm down; I have only started my explanation!" Tsunade protested frantically, looking at Pain with a begging expression. She knew one thing clearly- not to upset Jiraiya's "sons". Heck, she was afraid of Pain just like she was afraid of Jiraiya by now. "I know how unsafe and vulnerable you're feeling right now, and I know this was not the right thing to do, but you must listen! I know you don't trust us, I know you and Konan have suffered a great deal by our hands, but we are not the people we used to be! I am the Hokage now, Jiraiya told me that you two have changed, and I believe that! I have sent a direct order throughout the village- anyone who touches you will be facing a miserable punishment. I give you my word that you're safe here, no one will attack you under my watch!"

Pain seemed to be relaxing down, only to harden his eyes and tense back up, only more enraged. "Nothing changes!" He snapped angrily, almost snarling again. Konan just lowered her head in nervousness. The Angel had always hated seeing her Nagato angry, she hated seeing his snarls and glares. His anger was the cause of his emaciation, because when her Nagato got enraged after Yahiko impaled himself, he ended up summoning the Gedo Mazo and sacrificing his body. When he's angered, he's losing his sense of better judgment, he's unable to see when he crosses the line, unable to even make the difference between right and wrong. "Konohagakure Shinobi had killed both of my parents when I was eight years old! I was forced to wander the country and deal with heavy starvation and despair! You were the ones who caused this Second Great Shinobi World War…because of you…I went through _hell_…_we _went through hell because of you! But you couldn't have enough…you had to take away one of the two most important ones to me…you took _Yahiko_! After all you did to me…you expect me to believe that my Angel is _safe _in this trash hole of a village?!"

Konan was shocked again at Pain's display of extreme selflessness and concern towards her, not even worrying about himself. "As Konohagakure's Hokage, I give you my word that Konan will not be harmed, and I will give it to you once again…" Tsunade promised, looking at Pain with understanding eyes, knowing how worried he is about his Angel. Her voice was calm, knowing that she must not fall into either rage or fear. "We have saved Konan from death, working thirteen hours under extreme stress…none of us will dare harming the one we worked so hard to save…the one _Jiraiya _worked so hard to save. I promise you, you have my oath- you're safe here. You cannot return to Amegakure, because if you do, and if Konan's wound reopens again…she will not be able to reach proper treatment in time! Amegakure does not possess the necessary medical equipment to treat her. You will have to stay within the Fire Country's borders so Konan will be able to get the necessary aid if her wound opens up!"

Pain's and Konan's eyes widened, shocked at Tsunade's words. Thinking for a few minutes, Pain had realized that Tsunade was right. _'Returning back to Amegakure isn't an option anymore…' _Pain thought sadly, lowering his head slightly as his eyes narrows, capturing Konan's concerned gaze when he glanced at her abdomen, which was hidden beneath her Akatsuki cloak. _'If my Angel's wound suddenly opens up she will begin losing great amounts of blood…in a fast pace. There is no guarantee she'll be able to survive. And Amegakure really does not possess the necessary medical equipment to treat such a wound.'_

Konan lowered her head in despair, her expression saddening. She realized what that means, she realized that she was the reason they have to stay in Konohagakure now. She is such a great burden on him that now she even prevents him from leaving this village, that now, he will even end up being hurt for protecting her. She will be a burden on him for the rest of her life, just like how she had been in the past, just like how she is now.

At those thoughts, tears once again began standing in the corner of Konan's eyes, threatened by her sadness, which commanded them to roll down her cheeks.

And before she knew it, Pain was sitting right next to her, wrapping both of his arms around her in a comforting, warm hug, his hand at the back of her neck softly burying her face in his shoulder, his eyes closing as he rested his chin on her own shoulder. "Don't think that, my Angel." He whispered softly, feeling her body trembling in his arms, starting her sob. "Konan, you are not a burden on me, you never were one. It seems as if you need a reassurance, so I will say it again- you are not weak, for me, you are the strongest Shinobi in existence. I will be glad and happy to take care of you in ways you can't imagine, and I will do it for the rest of my life if I must. My Angel, I see no reason for you to be so hard on yourself...you have everything in this world and beyond, the traits which make you a real Angel, and above anything else…you are my love, you are my world, my happiness…Konan, you are everything to me. I remembered you complaining about Amegakure, about how gloomy and cold it was…but this country, this country is the exact opposite. This country is fertilized, warm, vivid…unlike the Rain Country. If you were sad in Amegakure, if you hate it…then so do I…but if you want to stay in this country, in this village, if you feel happy when seeing forests and trees, if you feel happy feeling the warmth on your skin…then this place is my home, because my home is wherever you feel happy."

Konan removed her head from Pain's shoulder, wrapping both of his arms around his neck as she looked at his with tear-filled, drowsy eyes. "Thank you…" She managed to whisper, feeling so weak to barely be able to do that, deeply grateful for him comforting her every time as she buried her head in his shoulder again. "Nagato…thank you…"

"Look at you, you lovebirds!" Tsunade chimed, her voice high-pitched as she grinned and closed her eyes, perking up the Akatsuki couple. "You two are just like Jiraiya said you'll be!"

With their attention turned back to her, Tsunade stood up and walked to one of the beds near the table, standing near it as she put her palm on the white, warm blanket covering the bed's mattress. "You have been very patient, putting aside your deep feelings of distrust and hatred towards me…towards this village…" She muttered hopefully, looking at Pain with happy, grateful eyes from over her shoulder. "I will be glad to examine Konan's wound…it is the least I can do to thank you."

Konan's expression instantly spiked, turning concerned and afraid, knowing what that examination will involve- pain. The Rinnegan wielder looked at her with a conforting expression, filling her with confidence. He knew how nervous and scared she is, any man who had been through such an injury will be afraid of such a thing. "Please…can the evaluation wait a little longer? I have an urgent question to ask you." Pain spoke kindly, a small smile on his face. Both Konan and Tsunade perked up, Konan knowing that Pain was giving her time to ready herself for the evaluation. He was certainly not going to let her run away from something like this, yet he knew that this is the least he could do to help her at this point. "How had Jiraiya-sensei been? What was he going through once he got both of us to this village? Is he alright?"

"Of course he is!" Tsunade chimed, bending forward and putting both of her hands on the desk while standing. Her expression then changed to a serious one, one which sent shivers and bad feelings through Konan's body. "Since Jiraiya arrived, carrying the both of you…he was on edge. He was panicking, his thoughts about abandoning you three at Amegakure had always haunted him, and he sees now that now it's his chance to redeem himself as your sensei, as your mentor. He knows that he was the cause of you forming Akatsuki, because he wasn't there to help and support you through those hard times, to keep you on check and guide you. He thought that he was only thinking of himself and being selfish at that time, he thought that it was because of that that he abandoned you. Those feelings, with the thought that now is the chance to pay back the debt he owes, caused his resolve to surface…one which had changed him forever."

"What do you mean by "Changed him forever"?" Pain asked hesitatingly, finding Tsunade's last words quite disturbing.

"As you know, every Shinobi eventually finds his main ambition, his resolve. Jiraiya calls it "answer", my grandfather, Harishama Senju, called it "destiny"…Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi's Jinchuriki and one of the strongest Shinobi in this village, calls it "Nindo"- Ninja Way…Jiraiya's resolve was no different than yours, Pain. It was a resolve that allowed him to attack and choke me, threatening my life just for the simple chance that I will agree to join the operation…it is a resolve which will allow him to go to even more drastic actions to protect the both of you." Tsunade muttered, fear and slight anger rising up in her mind. Jiraiya's glare flashed through her head, and she dwelled back on the moment in which he choked her against a wall. "He had changed upside down, and came to put the both of you infront of himself. That is why he gave you these seals. All he told me that they will keep you safe. I will not say any further about them…heck, I know less about them than you do now, but know this- it was thanks you Jiraiya's resolve that Konan is now alive. It was all thanks of him…you owe your life to your sensei. You should've seen how badly he was traumatized when we heard a rumor that the three of you died, he was suffering heavy depressions which took their tolls on his body in the following years. You should've seen how broken and devastated he was when he brought the both of you to Konoha…you should've seen his face when I told him that I wasn't going to treat Konan. After the operation, he made an oath infront of me, vowing to never abandon you two again and stay by your side…he will take you two back under his wings as your sensei, and will protect and take care of you, just like he had done at the time of your childhood."

Pain's and Konan's eyes widened in surprise and happiness, disbelieved that something like that is actually true. "R-Really?!" Pain exclaimed, thinking that his ears are deceiving him. Not only his teacher had saved his Angel's life, but he was now taking them back under his wings. By Tsunade's description, Jiraiya really had changed a lot. Not a change that they would know, since Nagato and Konan grew up together with Yahiko and a serious, self-matured version of Jiraiya. At the time of the Second Great Shinobi world war, no one had the time to goof around or tell a joke. Death was lurking everywhere, entire families were being shattered and torn, and sometimes, even smiling was a hard thing to do.

Tsunade nodded in approval, her smile growing bigger. "Of course," She answered, no shade of doubt in her words as she again walked towards the bed and turned around, looking at Konan. "He told me that he will be meeting you in a small clearing not far from Konoha's forest two hours from now. He had also made me promise him to send you out only after I examine Konan's wound. I will give you directions once I'm finished evaluating Konan's condition…please, come now, the sooner we start, the sooner we finish."

Pain turned his look to Konan, smiling confidently, comfortingly, seeing how she looked at him with her own approving, drowsy smile, having prepared mentally and physically, even if her expression still held so much fear and concern. They both wanted to finish up with this examination and head towards their teacher. "Are you ready, my Angel?" He asked softly and comfortingly, looking at her with warm, loving, assuring eyes. His voice was excited, happy. Konan looked at him with a drowsy smile before nodding, without hesitation. It had been a long time since Nagato was _excited_. Heck, that's a trait which was common with Yahiko, not Nagato.

Having her approval, Pain stood up and wrapped his arms around Konan as he helped her stand up from the chair and then carried her in his arms, causing her flush, which had been glued to her face since they woke up, to deepen. "Don't worry, Konan. I'm here by your side." Pain whispered lovingly, looking at her as he walked slowly towards the bed, motioning Tsunade to move aside as he softly rested his Angel on its edge in a sitting position.

Konan slowly looked downwards, an embarrassed, worried expression spreading on her face when she saw that now both of Pain and Tsunade were looking at her. Her body was trembling, and she could feel her gut clenching slightly, not sure what to do now. Even as ready and encouraged as she was now, she could still feel afraid, concerned about what Tsunade was going to do.

"You _will _need to take off that cloak…" Tsunade joked embarrassingly, noting the concealing, disturbing cloak which was wrapped around Konan's body. She never knew why the Akatsuki chose such mantles as their traditional gear. Something as simple as Forehead Protectors would've sufficed.

Konan perked up at Tsunade's request, and she hesitatingly looked at Pain. Her concerned expression told the Rinnegan wielder that she wasn't really prepared to face what's beneath the cloak, and so he slowly sat on the edge of the bed next to her. "I'll take it off…" He muttered lovingly, his voice as comforting as ever. Konan's eyes perked and her flush deepened. He wasn't going to let her do it on her own when he knew she was afraid to face her wound.

Konan nodded hesitatingly, and at her approval, Pain bended slightly, his fingers fumbling with the buttons of her Akatsuki cloak. He slid his hands down after every button which he undid, feeling her body and the fabric of her top, which was slowly revealed as the cloak was opened to the sides.

When Konan's cloak was fully unbuttoned, Pain's hands drifted off to Konan's shoulders, sending chills and shivers down her body. She closed her eyes and almost purred, feeling his incredibly cold hands softly holding her cloak and sliding it down her arms. She could feel her skin being exposed slowly, causing her flush to deepen and her breath to become warmer, Nagato flashing through her mind, more than the many previous times.

She smiled embarrassingly, her heart beating erratically into her chest when she glanced at Pain, seeing his loving, smiling expression. His Rinnegan slowly caressed her arms, admiring her smooth, exposed skin. It has been such a long time since he saw her skin. Two days ago in Amegakure, once he was struggling to calm Konan down, he was unable to see her body to full extent due to the dim light in the room.

But now…he could see her upper body completely…and he loved every inch of it.

Konan's Akatsuki cloak pulled out behind her, still connected with her wrists, and Konan now closed her eyes hesitatingly and looked away. She could still feel uncomfortable, now that she had her "physical shield" taken off, yet it was the least of her worries at this point.

When Yahiko died and Nagato became the emotionless monster that he was, Konan began feeling lonely- both physically and mentally. A gigantic, black blindfold covered up her world, turning to be the Akatsuki cloak she was usually wearing. It was a shield, both physically and mentally…a shield which she took off when having her emotional collapse…a shield that she was willing, and even urging for her beloved Nagato to take off right now.

She could feel Pain's hands tensing, and for some reason, she felt her body shivering and trembling. She felt a strange distortion in her body, a feeling she had never felt before…no…she had felt this feeling more than once- it was a change in her Nagato's personality, turning from calm and warm to shocked and horrified.

She tightened her eyelids, snarling in panic. "Nagato…how bad…is it?" She whispered weakly, her voice almost a sob as tears stood in her eyes. She could feel the bandages wrapped around her abdomen, their hardiness motioning that they were stained with dry blood.

"Thank goodness," Tsunade sighed as she took a single step and bended forwards, staring closely at Konan's bandages. Pain snuggled closer to Konan and wrapped his left arm around her shoulders, pulling her against him. "The bleeding stopped completely and the abdomen's size returned to normal. I'm so glad."

Konan's expression seemingly relieved, her tensed shoulders relaxing at Tsunade's words. Perhaps what was lying behind the bandages didn't look so bad after all. She could feel Pain's hold comforting her, warming up her body despite how cold his touch was. She squinted her eyes and turned them to him, smiling drowsily, her expression filled with gratitude. "It'll be alright…" Pain reassured her lovingly, whispering his words, calming her down yet again.

That relaxation, however, was only temporary as Tsunade sent her fingers and began unknotting the first layer of bandages, looking upwards at Konan, examining her reaction. She wanted to search for any psychological damage as well, not only physical.

"I'm taking off the bandages," Tsunade informed, beginning to unwrap the first layer of bandages from Konan's abdomen. Konan's eyes closed shut yet again, feeling the weight around her abdomen slowly reducing itself. She rested her head on Pain's shoulder, her body tensing up when Tsunade began removing the next layer of bandages. She could now feel the soft wind brushing through the last two layers of bandages, almost exposing her abdomen.

Pain rested the side of his face on Konan's head, his available, right hand resting itself on top of her own, which were now on his hips. He could feel Konan slightly relaxing in his touch, and he knew how much he was helping her by providing this basic, yet very important need.

And at that point, down came the last layer of bandages, causing the atmosphere in the room to shift completely. Konan snarled in pain and closed her eyes shut, feeling the breeze burning against her abdomen, sending pain through her trembling body.

"Amazing, it healed up very nicely!" Tsunade chimed, causing Pain to remove his forehead from Konan's hair and look at her abdomen. Konan nearly missed a heartbeat when she felt Pain tensing up, a heavy gasp leaving his lips as his eyes widened completely, horror flooding his expression, dropping his jaw. Tsunade looked at him sadly, understanding his reaction.

"I know it looks bad, but it's still much better than before the operation…"

Konan now had three, mid-sized holes in her abdomen which were in a horizontal line, marking the places which Zetsu's blades impaled and pierced. The holes looked nasty, their inner parts showing Konan's fixed and healed muscles which were now looking more like deep scars. Each hole had many veins around it, each vein being brought to view above her skin because of the abdomen's pressure and damage, distorting Konan's smooth skin around them. Upon a closer, terrified, look, Pain could see the deep parts of Konan's holes were stitched, marking the start of her inner abdomen where the organs and veins were all located. Pain noticed that there was also a long, horizontal, stitched cut passing directly through the three holes.

Pain then looked at Konan's lower back, seeing that there were three, smaller holes in it as well, looking the same like the holes in her abdomen, with many veins surrounding them. "H-How horrible…does it look!?" Konan whispered, tears flowing down her closed eyes as her body trembled in sadness and despair, her voice shaking. She knew that for Pain to react this badly, she probably had half her belly missing.

Pain wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her into a sad, comfortable hug, knowing how sad she is, letting her again cry on his shoulder. She had become so emotionally fragile, but he understood her needs of his comfort and his love, knowing how long it has been since she last got them. "The only thing important here is that you're fine, my Angel…" He muttered comfortingly, sadly, caressing her hair, knowing that by saying that he just told her that the wound looks horrible.

Konan removed her head from Pain's shoulder, tears flowing through her eyes. If he won't tell her how it looks, she will find out herself. She shot her eyes open and glanced at her abdomen in an attempt to look at the wound. She didn't succeed, however, as Pain's inhuman instincts caused his hand to cover her eyes and his other hand to swiftly rest against her cheek and turn her head away. Konan didn't want to struggle, knowing that there must be a good reason for which her Nagato is doing that. "Please, Konan, don't look." He urged, using her name to set her in place, perking up her body. The Rinnegan wielder glanced at Tsunade, who was now walking towards a nearby wooden closet. She opened it, browsing through some ointments and many ot her medical supplies which were present in the closet.

"Don't worry Konan, it appears to have recovered quite nicely." Tsunade chimed kindly as she grabbed a package of white, new bandages and a glass bowl, together with a pack of cotton and a small bottle filled with orange colored liquid. Konan, however, wasn't calmed the slightest at Tsunade's words. She could feel pain surging through her body with every gasp and pant she took, she could feel her abdominal muscles were stiff, cramped up, and distorted. She didn't know how "nicely" it recovered.

Tsunade turned around and walked back towards the bed, putting the medical kit on a small end table near the bed, preparing everything for the evaluation. "But I will need to examine the wound further for my assumption to be the most precise…it will hurt, but please try to bear with it, Konan."

Pain could notice Konan's body recoiling heavily at the word "hurt", causing her snuggle to instinctively push herself against Pain's body, burying her head in his shoulder, shaking slightly. Even though she was ready with every mean of the word, her body would do _anything _to avoid any kind of physical contact in this point. "Relax, my Angel, I'm here with you." The Rinnegan wielder comforted softly, caressing her hair once again as Tsunade crouched and examined the wound with her eyes closely. Konan felt tensed and afraid, an enormous amount of stress and discomfort weighting on her body, as if Tsunade's eyes were bringing pain with them. "You have nothing to worry about. I will hold you so you won't do any drastic movements, but if it hurts, just say "stop" and we will stop, I give you my word."

Tsunade nodded with a smile, agreeing with Pain, knowing that she shouldn't put on this much strain on Konan's body right after the operation. She's still recovering, causing any further harm to her will only worsen her condition. "Alright, Konan, I'm going to touch the wound so I can see how your body reacts to physical contact with it." She muttered, informing Konan as much as she can about what she was doing. She noticed Konan's trembles were growing heavier, and doubted that she could even hear what she was saying. The Angel could feel her heart beating fast, wanting to just get on and end with this, yet being so afraid that she want everything around her to stop. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

"You better…" Pain deadpanned slightly, knowing that the last thing he wants now is his Angel suffering again. He knew that he, as well, won't be able to handle the fact that Konan is hurt again. His expression then returned to being soft and warm as he closed his eyes and rested his chin on Konan's head. "Are you ready, my Angel?"

Konan nodded slightly, her face still buried in Pain's shoulder, her arms wrapped around his upper body from the sides. She pressed her collar and her breasts against his arm, trying to squeeze Pain down in order to relieve any sort of stress.

And so Tsunade's fingers softly rested against Konan's abdomen, two inches above her wound, as gentle as possible, yet it was enough for the Angel to tense and shoot upwards in pain, crying out into the Rinnegan wielder's shoulder. She squeezed him as tight as she could with her current strength, grinding her teeth as Tsunade brushed her fingers sideways, wanting to see if her nerves react to physical stimulation. She could feel her body burning with pain, as if Tsunade's fingers were digging themselves into her body, her heart was beating out of control, and she couldn't take it anymore.

"S-Stop! Please!" Konan cried out unwillingly, causing Pain to remove his head from her hair and shoot his hard, serious eyes at Tsunade, who instantly removed her fingers from Konan's abdomen, allowing the Angel to pant viciously, feeling like her body tensed up entirely. She melted back into the mattress, gasping and panting, tears standing in her eyes.

"Everything's fine, my Angel, everything's fine…" Pain breathed into her ear, wanting to calm her down. He was only able to comprehend how much it hurt her when Zetsu brought that wound upon her if just a single touch causes her to cry out in pain.

He could feel Konan's breath against his shoulder, could feel her hands still squeezing his body, overflowed with pain. He knew that she wanted to scream to Tsunade to stop the first second she touched her wound, yet she didn't want to make this evaluation a burden and a menace on both him and Tsunade, and so she tried to endure it as much as possible…biting off more than she could chew.

He forcefully removed her head from his shoulder, grabbing both of her cheeks softly as he looked at her panting, sobbing expression as he was driven back to his battle with Madara, when he saw that horrible, terror-bringing expression for the first time.

The Rinnegan wielder pressed her face to his neck, grinding his teeth, standing in his eyes upon seeing that expression again. Tsunade looked at the two with a saddened, depressed look, noting how hard it will be to continue the evaluation. It didn't matter, she had already gotten all the data she needed from those two. "The evaluation is complete," She announced seriously, her voice slightly hesitant, causing Pain and Konan to perk up. Pain looked at the Hokage with questioning, shocked, yet relieved eyes. "She's in the process of recovering, I can clearly see that, so contact with her wound at this moment is extremely prohibited. Also, she had sustained heavy physical and mental damage from that trauma...she developed a heavy Algophobia, and aside from that, there are breathing disorders and rapid muscle contraction when any physical contact is performed with the wound, let alone an incredible amount of pain."

"Please, what can we do to improve her condition!?" Pain asked frantically, his voice shaking from sadness and sorrow, feeling again that it was all his fault. When he felt his Angel squeezing him down, wincing and crying out into his shoulder, it tore his heart apart. It took all his willpower not to break down the moment he saw her expression. "My Angel doesn't deserve this! It was all because of me! You must've come up with something, tell me you did!"

Konan couldn't believe what her Nagato was saying, she couldn't believe that he's accusing himself of her injury. She knew that he thought it was all his fault, but the shock was nevertheless great to hear Nagato actually saying that again, and in front of someone who isn't her. Konan only pressed herself harder against his body, trying to calm him down, resting her head on his neck.

Tsunade sighed before crouching and opening the small bottle that she brought out of the medical closet, gazing deeply at the orange liquid inside it with narrowed eyes. "I have, but I don't think it's a solution suitable enough for her current condition…not as long as she's recovering. For now…I strongly recommend you to let her rest as much as she can, both physically and mentally." The Hokage began explaining as she poured the bottle's contains into the bowl, watching the orange liquid filling it completely. She had performed rapid examinations on Konan's wound when she was unconscious after the operation and now had all the information she needed. "If this wound will sustain even the slightest amount of damage, it will reopen, and by that I mean that Konan will begin losing immense amounts of blood every second…if this happens, it won't be long before she…you already know. That is why it is most important for you two to stay within the Fire Country's boundaries, so Konan will be able to reach proper treatment within minutes."

A pack of cottons was resting on the end table as well, and Tsunade's hands instantly homed in on it. She took the pack and swiftly opened it, taking out a relatively large piece of cotton and dipping it down into the bowl, soaking it with the orange liquid. That act caught Pain's attention, and the Rinnegan wielder swiftly looked at her. "What are you going to do with that?" He asked hesitatingly, causing Tsunade to smile slightly.

Konan was still burying her face in his neck, feeling her abdominal pain spreading across her body. It caused her to tense upwards even more, but as time passed, it slowly relieved and relaxed, causing her pants to become weaker and slower.

"That's an ointment consisted of a large amount of anesthetic medicine that I prepared from herbs available throughout Konohagakure." Tsunade explained as she removed the cotton from the orange bowl and approached the Akatsuki couple, crouching again. "I'm going to smear the ointment around Konan's wound in hope that it will soak it into her abdomen. Once it does, the anesthetic will spread through the wound and will numb down Konan's abdomen a little. Once it does, she will have a much easier time moving around, let alone breathing. I doubt she will be able to walk easily though, as currently her body is still recovering. I shouldn't touch the wound completely, and in that case the range in which the ointment can be smeared will decrease, and so the numbness will weaken as well. For now, this solution was the best answer the medical crew was able to come up with in that short period of time we had."

"Do it…" Konan sobbed weakly, her left eye slightly peeking out from Pain's neck, wanting to show her Nagato that she can be strong, that she can handle such a thing. She didn't want to look weak, and she was definitely not afraid of something as pathetic as an ointment. She wasn't willing to be a burden on her Nagato anymore. "Please…"

"Just be gentle, Tsunade." Pain clarified again, his voice serious and low, knowing that this will hurt much more than the previous "examination". He only pressed Konan tightly against him as Tsunade held the cotton two inches from the left hole of Konan's wound, which appeared to be the smallest among the three. Turns out that Zetsu's blade were in different sizes, being made from his flytrap extensions, whose sizes differed from each other.

"I will, don't worry."

The moment in which the ointment-soaked cotton touched the skin around the left hole of Konan's wound was pure torture for the Angel. She instantly gripped Pain as tightly as she could, pressing herself harder against him, feeling her skin burning, countless stabs of pain causing her to cry out after a few seconds.

She was erected, her entire body was tensed up and trembling, biting the cloth of Pain's Akatsuki cloak with her teeth, tears slightly rolling down her cheeks as she cried out into Pain's neck, feeling the liquid spreading across the left part of her wound.

"You are a _very_ fortunate woman, Konan." Tsunade started happily, wanting to distract Konan from the pain with a conversation. Pain cooperated as he caressed Konan's hair while wrapping his arms around her upper body, warming and comforting her. "It is hard for me to even imagine that someone would've survived such a wound. You must've had so much willpower and body strength that helped you enduring that injury."

Konan didn't say anything in response to Tsunade's words. She only chocked back another cry after a few seconds, pressing herself harder against Pain, who tightened his hug around her. The Hokage doubted that Konan was even able to speak or hear her words currently.

"S-Stop!" Konan cried eventually, unable to endure the incredible pain any longer, feeling her body beginning to tear apart. Tsunade instantly removed the cotton from her abdomen, causing the Angel's body to tense down viciously as she panted repeatedly. She winced heavily, her abdominal muscles trembling and quivering, the pain tearing her apart.

"We're almost done, my Angel. You can relax now." Pain said comfortingly, smiling as he caressed Konan's hair again, feeling her wet tears caressing his neck. "Konan…I know how much it hurts, and I'm so proud of you for enduring all this pain. I'm sorry…I'm sorry for forcing you to go through all of this. I'm here by your side no matter what, don't worry."

"Thank…you…" Konan breathed weakly, panting and gasping from the pain.

Tsunade gave the Angel a few more minutes to recover, seeing that her distorted breathing pace was stabilizing, her abdominal muscles slowly relaxing the longer she remained in Pain's hug, feeling comforted and happy, even though to anyone aside Pain it would look like she was going through hell.

The Angel could feel Tsunade's ointment spreading around her abdomen, bringing numbness with it. She barely glanced out of Pain's neck to see Tsunade looking at her with an expression which informed the Angel she was going to continue the treatment.

"Be…gentle…" Konan managed to squeeze between pants, looking at the Hokage with a begging expression, feeling stressed and nervous, scared of experiencing the same amount of pain that she experienced in the previous attempt.

"I will be as gentle as I can." Tsunade reassured, allowing Konan a few more seconds to prepare herself before she moved to the middle hole in her wound, which was slightly bigger than the left one. She examined the middle part of the wound closely, looking for any signs of bleeding. There were none, and the Hokage just proceeded to rest the cotton on the outskirts of the middle hole in Konan's wound. "At that point the medicine will start spreading, so it shouldn't be so painful."

Konan, however, again tensed up viciously, pressing herself against Pain, who was still caressing her hair, hugging her softly. It was less painful than last time, the anesthetic already being spread across the Angel's abdomen.

But it was still painful beyond words, enough for the Angel to cry out in pain every few seconds, wincing into Pain's neck.

"It's not only Konan's muscles and skin which were heavily damaged from the wound," Tsunade pointed out, looking upwards at Pain, who was now looking back at her with a curious expression. "Whatever caused this had pierced her organs as well. When we first looked at her insides in the operation, she had two holes through her stomach and one hole in her liver…stitching them back was the most difficult thing I have ever done, considering those are extremely delicate organs. Her stomach's acids began digesting down her inner muscles and bones, and it was Jiraiya who managed to heal them up and restore them…but it was really a close call. At the end, six hours after the operation began, we managed to stitch back those holes using advanced surgical tools. I still can't believe we managed to succeed…that operation was inhuman…your _condition _was inhuman."

Pain's smile got bigger, getting happier and happier about his Angel's survival, his gratitude towards his sensei growing bigger and bigger as well as he tightened the hug around Konan's body, pressing her against him.

The Angel's suffering expression was still plastered on her face, trying to endure the horrible pain which was overflowing her body. She tried to focus on the feeling of Pain's body, but found out that the pain was preventing her from doing so.

Tsunade then removed the cotton from Konan's abdomen, looking at the wound with slightly-satisfied eyes, thinking back at the time of the operation before she dipped the cotton in the bowl containing the ointment.

"There we go, just a little more." Pain whispered to Konan, feeling her hug weakening around him. She was now barely able to stay awake, trying as hard as she could not to fall asleep. Konan slowly relaxed, barely able to hear Pain's words as well, feeling the pain tearing her abdomen relaxing slowly. "You are doing so well, my Angel…she's almost finished."

"The organs in Konan's body weren't the only systems to be damaged," Tsunade pointed out as she turned back to Konan's wound, again examining it deeply, holding the cotton two inches away from the right hole, which was the biggest one among the three. "The center of Konan's chakra pathway system, the core itself, was damaged heavily."

Pain's eyes widened in disbelief at Tsunade's words, and Konan, who had been burying her face in Pain's neck all this time, glanced out of it, looking at Tsunade with shocked, disbelieved eyes.

"We managed to heal and fix up a big portion of the damage caused to you Chakra Pathway System…but not all of it." Tsunade muttered sadly, knowing that what she's going to say next might have a huge emotional impact on Konan. "The seals were applied to you not only to keep you from molding chakra, but to keep your chakra inside your body. Because of the damage sustained to your chakra pathway system, I'm afraid that its chakra production speed will be cut down in half…meaning that…yes, Konan, your maximum chakra will be cut down by half as well. You will have difficulties performing the techniques you used to perform without before getting that wound. Not only that, you will even have a hard time molding up your chakra because the center of the system was damaged so badly. The only solution Jiraiya could come up with to this problem was… those seals…I'm sorry."

Tears were, again, rolling down Konan's cheeks, and before she knew it, Pain was, again, hugging her face to his neck, letting her cry into his body. Her day was just getting worse and worse, because for a Kunoichi like her, who barely had physical strength, chakra was extremely important.

It wasn't long before Tsunade rested the cotton against the biggest hole in her wound, causing Konan to tense up again and cry out loudly, feeling much greater pain than last time, even with the medicine. "That is the damage caused to your body by the wound…I'm sorry, Konan." Tsunade apologized sadly as she began smearing the ointment around the right part of the wound, noting how her abdominal muscles were again tensing up viciously, causing the Angel to cry out loudly in pain and sorrow again. "With such grave injuries…it will be difficult for you to perform daily activities. That means that fighting, let alone being a Kunoichi, is out of discussion. I am still unable to determine if you will eventually be able to return to action, but for now, I recommend you to give up about battling, let alone being a Shinobi."

"I will make sure she does…and will help her with every single activity in her daily routine. She will be taken care of…I can vouch for that." Pain pointed out seriously, looking at Konan with a smile, still seeing that she was wincing and sobbing into his shoulder from the sorrow, pain, and happiness. He suddenly shot another look at Tsunade, his eyes hardening and turning into a glare, causing the Hokage to perk up. "But with those seals, as you already said, I am powerless. As much as I can help my Angel…I cannot protect her from hostile threats! What if we are attacked by your people!? What if the feelings of hatred and grudges still exist within your village!?"

"I highly doubt that you will be attacked…most of Konohagakure's Shinobi believe your change…and those who do not aren't brave enough to attack Jiraiya's favorite apprentices." Tsunade deadpanned, her eyes narrowing into a glare as well, thinking what she would do to the one who does get brave enough. She then removed the cotton from Konan's abdomen, causing the Angel to gasp as she arched upwards and removed her head from Pain's shoulder, tears rolling down her cheeks, gasping and panting from the slowly-passing pain. She slowly relaxed, feeling the medicine taking effect, making her abdomen slowly numb.

She removed her face from Pain's body, the pain slowly dissipating as she straightened herself up and turned towards him completely. Pain smiled warmly into her expression, seeing her drowsy, grateful smile locking itself with his.

Tsunade stood up and looked at both Pain and Konan with a satisfied, happy smile, glad to see that all the hard work finally paid off- those two were alive. "Jiraiya told me that he'll release Pain's seal once you reunite with him up at a clearing not far away from the village." She began, causing Pain and Konan to perk up in surprise. "Once he does, Pain, please put your better judgment infront of your emotions, since you will be able to battle and use your strength once again. But for Konan, I am afraid Jiraiya will keep your seals on you for you to conserve chakra."

Pain nodded hesitatingly, knowing that he cannot fully keep his promise to Tsunade for now. Tsunade then turned her look to Konan, causing the Angel to look away from Pain's eyes and smile embarrassingly at her. She accepted the fact that she cannot battle, though she didn't agree with it fully, knowing that she will make it difficult for her Nagato, but however, she knew that he will be there to protect and take care of her, and that resolve was shown in her smile. The Hokage's smile grew bigger, seeing those exact feelings in Konan's expression, and with that smile she opened the new pack of bandages which was resting on the end table all this time. "Konan, if you please turn your abdomen to me…" She started, causing Konan to nod as she attempted to rotate her belly towards Tsunade. She suddenly winced in pain, and bended forwards, causing Pain and Tsunade to perk up before they rushed to her help.

"Kami, my Angel, don't push yourself so much!" Pain noted frantically, causing Konan's expression to sadden as he helped her to turn around back to Tsunade. She couldn't even rotate her abdomen at this point, and how much effort she needed in order to do that?

"Don't worry, Konan…" Tsunade comforted as she crouched and began wrapping the new bandages around Konan's waist. "In a few minutes when the ointment will start working effectively you won't have so much difficulty moving your body…maybe, and so will help my Kami, you will even be able to walk a little bit."

Konan's and Pain's expression lit up with hope and happiness, Konan widening her eyes in disbelief. She will be able to walk once again, never before has such news made her so happy, because it meant that she won't be a burden on her Nagato anymore. Pain was relieved and glad that Konan was happy, knowing how much she needed to hear those words.

"But please, promise me you won't push yourself too far. You still need to recover." Tsunade noted before knotting the bandages tightly around her waist. Konan snarled in pain, closing her eyes shut as the same stabs of hurt flooded her body once again, but however, they instantly disappeared, being replaced by a warm, tingling feeling. The numbness almost took effect, and the feeling of a tight cloth wrapped around her midsection gave a somewhat comfortable feeling for the Angel. "But don't try and be a hero, Konan! You have Pain here to take care of you, so please…don't do anything by yourself for now unless it's an emergency."

Konan nodded, looking at Pain with a grateful, happy smile, a smile which he equally returned. He saw that the treatment was over, and by the way Tsunade stood up and began organizing everything on the end table, he realized that they needed to head out as well. "I'll button back the cloak, my Angel." He whispered lovingly, causing Konan's flush to deepen, noting how it was spread across her face this entire time. She looked at him with loving, warm amber eyes before nodding, allowing the Rinnegan wielder to wrap his left arm around her waist and her other arm to stretch to her front as he pulled her Akatsuki cloak upwards, covering back her upper body.

His fingers began working put her cloak, buttoning back every single button until Konan's upper body was again fully concealed by her mantle. His eyes were still locked with hers as he stood up and wrapped both of his arms around her body. Seeing what he was intending to do, Konan perked up and Tsunade rushed for Pain's help as the two assisted Konan in standing back up.

However, Konan didn't have the time to dwell on the incredible pain she felt as she instantly found herself in Pain's arms, causing her momentary snarl to dissolve into a grateful, loving expression. "N-Nagato…I think I can…walk…a little bit…" Konan said weakly, her voice shy and embarrassed. She knew she shouldn't be asking to be left alone after all he did for her, but she couldn't deny the thoughts that she was a burden on him. "You…don't have…to carry…me if you…don't…want to…"

Pain's smile only grew bigger, overflowing with positive emotions towards her, slowly magnetizing the Angel's eyes into his. "Argue as much as you want, Konan." He jokingly commented, closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side slightly, a slight grin tugging his lips, the first grin in eight years, a grin which shocked Konan to the core. Her eyes widened, her jaw dropping in disbelief- that grin didn't resemble Yahiko's grin at all…it was Nagato's. "I will not let you move a single limb…I won't let you get a single scratch on yourself…no matter how much you think you're a burden."

His everlasting smile was captivating her, shocking her as she still failed to adapt to his amazing display of selfness and love towards her, something her body had carved for so long. Her expression turned into a grateful smile, her flush deepening as she rested her head sideways on his chest, snuggling into a comfortable position.

Pain looked from over his shoulder at Tsunade, who was now putting the used bandages and the cotton into the bowl, together with the empty ointment bottle. "Please, can you tell me how to get to the clearing where I'm supposed to meet Jiraiya?" Pain asked, perking up Tsunade.

The Hokage looked at him slowly with a big smile as she closed her eyes. "Of course," She chimed as she went towards the room's wooden door and opened it slowly, standing near it and leaning against the wall. She looked at Konan who was seemed to be constantly fighting against her tiredness, looking up deeply into Pain's face, her eyes constantly closing and opening. "When you exit this hospital, you will see Konoha's walls over the horizon, you can't miss it. Go through the main gate, it's a green, huge gate at the south side of the village. From there continue heading straight forwards through the forest's trail and eventually you'll reach a rather big clearing. This will be where Jiraiya is supposed to meet with you both."

"Very well, I will keep those directions in mind." Pain muttered as he began walking slowly towards the door, not turning away his look from Konan's. The moment he was about to bypass the Hokage, the Rinnegan wielder stopped and slowly looked to the right, gazing deeply at her face, perking her up.

"Tsunade…I…thank you for…for everything."

A teasing smirk grew on Tsunade's face while Konan gave the Rinnegan wielder her sly, drowsy, signature smile, satisfied with what her Nagato turned to be. "Don't mention it…" She teased back jokingly, glancing at Pain as he slowly walked through the door into the hospital's hallways.

A soft breeze brew through the room as the Hokage slowly closed the door and walked back to the wooden desk, taking her seat as she continued browsing through the documents, a big, nostalgic smile on her face. _'Konan had grown into such a beautiful, smart woman…and Nagato turned into a high-class gentleman…Jiraiya was right, those two will be a hell of a couple.' _She thought, her smile still glued to her face as the image of Pain and Konan grinning with the background of Konohagakure behind them flashed through her mind, sending shivers down the Hokage's body. _'Speaking of Jiraiya…I hope he'll force those two to get some rest and take a nap himself…those three had been through so many traumatizing events these three days…'_

With that, the Hokage suddenly perked up, spotting the latest edition of Konoha's newspaper, "Konoha's news", buried beneath the many documents. She instantly dug it out, looking at the front page of the thick newspaper, a big grin spreading on her face.

* * *

The wind brew through the streets and buildings of Konohagakure, going as far as to the hospital's roof, fluttering through all the blankets and mat protectors which were hung up to dry there.

Pain felt the breeze fluttering against his Akatsuki cloak as he walked towards the edge of the hospital's rooftop which was enclosed with a metal fence. It was quite a strange display to see a metal fence on the _roof _of a building, but the reason it was built for was the prevent any patients from realizing any suicidal desires.

Pain elegantly jumped upwards, standing on top of the fence with amazing balance, overlooking the part of Konohagakure which was visible to his Rinnegan.

'_This village…is beautiful…' _Pain thought, marveling the beautiful view, from the bottom of the hospital to the forests beyond the great walls, Konoha looked like it was the exact opposite of Amegakure.

It was around noon, and some villagers were already walking through the streets, but despite that there wasn't a single noise through the village. Most of the villagers were at their homes, wanting to take a moment to relax and recover from the morning.

Pain lowered his head, looking at his Angel who was in his arms with a warm smile, the sound of her dozes filling his ears. Her head was resting on his bicep, seeking for support, feeling dizzy and weak.

Konan closed her eyes just a little before shooting them open again, refusing the fall asleep as she looked deeply into Pain's Rinnegan with another drowsy expression, examining his smile. "My Angel…" Pain whispered with a loving smile, seeing that Konan snuggled in his arms, giving in to her tiredness. "Please, grab me and hold on."

He knew it was such a cruel thing to ask for her in her current, weak state, but Konan nodded and then shook her head a little, trying to get rid of the tiredness. Pain's right arm, which was supporting her upper back, slowly rose upwards so her cheek was now resting on his shoulder, allowing her to wrap both of her arms around his neck as she did so.

She slowly closed her eyes, feeling the warm, soft breeze brushing through her hair, the firm, Pain's muscular arms holding her tightly, not going to let go. It was now Nagato holding her, not Pain, as of the previous days that silhouette was neglected and burned down with the rest of the darkness in his heart.

With his smile still glued to his face, seeing that Konan is in safe condition, the Rinnegan wielder jumped effortlessly from the hospital's rooftop to a nearby rooftop, the wind fluttering his and Konan's Akatsuki cloaks as he landed. He proceeded to leaping from rooftop to rooftop with amazing speed and elegance, turning him into a black blur which was heading towards Konoha's main gate, and the clearing, where they would reunite with Jiraiya once again.

* * *

Konoha's forest was quiet and warm, filled with life and endless fields of grass. The chirps of the birds and the rustling sound of the leaves making a beautiful melody with the breeze, a melody filled with happiness, a melody which was as well, the exact opposite of Amegakure's rain.

After following the forest's trail for nearly twenty minutes and observing the vivid environment of trees and grass around him, Pain had finally emerged into a rather large, quiet clearing.

The sound of rustling leaves was still heard all over the forest, a few birds were as well chirping from the trees surrounding the clearing, the sunlight barely penetrating through the high rooftop of leaves that the tall trees created, slightly caressing the grass covering every single inch of the clearing's surface.

Pain looked downwards at his Angel, widening his smile and filling it with empathy and love when he saw that she was already asleep in his arms, her head leaning on his torso and her arms crossed and rested on her own abdomen. She had a peaceful, warm smile glued to her face as she suddenly snuggled in his arms, dozing peacefully, seeking for a warmer, more comfortable position.

What caught Pain's eyes was that everlasting flush on her face that didn't seem to disappear since she woke up, maybe it was because her body had gotten used to the cold weather of Amegakure that now, being waken up in that warm place, her body begins to fill up with heat, adapting to the change of temperature and weather.

Pain closed his eyes, taking a few deep breaths as he began thinking about all they will do together from her on now, now that the feelings of revenge and hatred were lifted from him thanks to her, now that the both of them are at this vivid country, now that Jiraiya is back.

The possibilities were endless, yet Pain only needed one- to live together with his Angel in a world where she is able to smile safely, where they will be able to love each other with no bloodshed. That was his promise to her, a promise he's intending to fulfill, no matter what.

Pain began walking towards one of the big, thick trees surrounding the clearing and forming a part of the rooftop of leaves. It was a bole big enough for the Rinnegan wielder to rest beneath it, sitting on the grass with his Angel on his lap, still resting her head against his torso.

Konan snuggled again, attempting to find a more comfortable position, deciding to settle in and resume her sleep when she was unable to. Chuckling, Pain slowly and carefully rested her next to him, her cloak fluttering the grass and her upper body leaned against the tree's bole. Her smile followed him, as if she was still awake, as if she was still aware of him.

Pain then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, letting her body lean against him, her head resting on his shoulder softly. Konan's eyes suddenly squinted slightly, causing Pain to almost slam the back of his head against the tree's bole when he realized he woke his peaceful Angel from her sleep.

Her gaze wandered around the clearing, traveling every inch of the grass and trees, her expression drowsy and amazed, marveling the unique view she had never seen before in amazement. She then looked at Pain, her smile getting bigger as she snuggled closer to him and folded her knees towards her for better leaning. She then rested the back of her hands on her thighs, her dozes beginning to get delightful when she realized she had now found a position comfortable enough to sleep in.

She looked up at Pain, her smile melting through his eyes when she against snuggled against him and closed her eyes slowly, causing the Rinnegan wielder to smile warmly at her. "This…place…is beautiful…" The Angel whispered drowsily, feeling the warm breeze brushing through her hair once more, delighting her. "I…have…never…seen such…a view…Nagato…this place…I love…it…"

Pain only rested his head on his Angel's and closed his eyes, putting his other palm on her hands, holding them tightly, noting how warm they were. "You're right…my Angel…" He whispered lovingly when he heard that Konan's dozes were taking over her, the Angel finally falling asleep. "In that case…I love this place too…"

When he was sure she was deeply asleep, letting her a few more minutes to sink into her dreams, Pain lifted his head from his Angel's hair and looked at her dozing, peaceful expression, examining her utterly-relaxed body and hearing her peaceful, happy dozes.

A small amount of tears began forming in Pain's eyes at the sight. When was the last time he saw her like this? For the past eight years she was forced to hide and press back her emotions because of his inhuman behavior. He caused her so much mental damage that even now that thought still squeezes his heart, no matter how much she reassures him.

But now she could finally let all of these emotions pour out without fear, which was the main cause of her personality turning so emotional. And he loved every bit of it, he wanted his Angel to express her emotions to full extent, something he didn't allow her to do for the past eight years.

One of the things which bothered him was his body, this cold and pierced body. He knew one thing- Konan wasn't snuggling against him for warmth, he was cold as an ice cube, he was a corpse without warmth being manipulated by Nagato. Sure, the Deva path's body was a lot more muscular and durable than Nagato's, which was basically just skin and bones, but Nagato himself had that warm touch, those melting eyes which always got through his Angel.

When he hugged her with this body, wrapping his arms around her, it didn't feel the same as when he did it with his original body eight years ago, when they mourned Yahiko's death. He couldn't feel her skin, he couldn't feel anything physical- from warmth to cold. The only reason Konan was hugging this body was because she knew that it means that she's hugging his original one passively, and that was what let her put aside those feelings of cold and metal, which were covering his body.

When he first hugged her after eight years, using his emaciated form, hugging her differently than he did eight years ago, pressing her against him, feeling up every inch of the skin which was exposed by her Akatsuki clothes, he was melting down, he felt how warm and smooth her skin was, and he knew that she felt that he was warm as well, but aside from his warmth, there was nothing else to cling at.

The rest of the Six Paths were destroyed, and it was clearly that they could not be replaced at such point. One of the major disadvantages was that the Deva path could only use the gravitational power of the Rinnegan, unlike Nagato, who could use all six powers.

One of the advantages of the Deva path's body was that he was durable, and could take any decent physical hit. He could move with great speed with no need of a mechanical walker, he could move flexibly and elegantly in battle, and more importantly, could provide his Angel with the feeling of strong, physical protection.

If only there was a way…if only there was a way to combine his and Nagato's advantages…if there only was a way to somehow mix them together…

Pain shook himself mentally, rejecting those thoughts. He wouldn't do it, he will not find a way to transfer the soul and chakra of his original body to this one. He knows that his Angel loves _him_, her Nagato, not this dead corpse of Yahiko filled with piercings.

But if he stays as Nagato, the frail, emaciated leader of Akatsuki, who can barely take care of himself, his Angel will have to continue helping him, and the Rinnegan wielder knew she will do it with or without his objections, even if she bears that mortal wound.

He wouldn't risk it, he wouldn't risk his Angel's safety and health to make sure his own is safe. He _will _find a way to do such a thing, especially now. Not for himself, but for her, so Konan could feel how it's like to be treated like the Angel she is, to feel how it's like to have your need being taken care of immediately.

He will make her feel just like how she made him feel by changing him, and even more. He will make her forget those horrible years in which she was tortured by him, and replace those thoughts with ones of the years in which he loved her with no bounds, in which he became the Nagato she loved and circled around her every single day.

Pain again shook his head, deciding to put those thoughts away for now. It was all just the beginning, and before everything, he needs to wait to see Jiraiya removing those seals on his body to make all of his ambitions possible again. Without the power of the Rinnegan accompanying the Deva Path, it was completely useless.

He drifted off to again examined his Angel's body, noting how such minor changes could lead to such a big, good difference-

Konan's face was missing that labret piercing, which sat on her lower lip like an infection. He, let alone Konan, never really understood the Shinobi teenager females' desires to pierce their bodies with metal. Sure, he was covered in piercings, and she was once as well, having her labret and navel piercings, but those were put into her for him to track her down in emergencies, and since her navel, and entire abdomen, were both destroyed by Zetsu's blades, and since her labret piercing was taken out for some reason, Konan was now completely natural and captivating nonetheless.

Her eye shadow was gone, that eye makeup made from despair and sorrow had disappeared as if it was washed off by her happiness and hope, which purged it down, exposing the pale, beautiful eyelid skin, which looked especially emphasized when her eyelids were closed.

And her blue, silky hair was missing that curled up bun of trapped locks in the back of her head, sending free those locks and making her hair slightly longer and prettier, as if her trapped emotions were sent free when she received him back.

As he thought of how beautiful his Angel had become, mentally and physically, the soothing melody of the forest, combined with the rhythm of his Angel's breath slowly forced its way into his head, manipulating it to rest back against the tree's bole.

The Rinnegan wielder squinted his eyes and dropped his jaw slightly, the sun's rays meeting with his piercings. He could see that the rooftop of leaves was shimmering from the sunlight covering it, sparkling with beauty.

'_Peaceful…' _He thought, closing his eyes as a small, peaceful smile tugged his lips, enjoying every single second in which he was resting with Konan snuggled to him, hearing her breath, feeling her body moving in reaction to each doze.

Suddenly, a sweet scent brushed against his nose, perking Pain's eyes slightly as they squinted. The scent instantly filled his nose, entering and painting Pain's world pink as the sweetness and perfume-like scent caressed through his mind.

He recognized that scent, but had never actually managed to get such a handful of it, let alone a tiny sniff, or even feel its traces- it was Konan's scent, the scent of her skin, the scent of her hair, the scent of her breaths, it was the scent of her body.

Even though every being grows to be unaware and basically "immune" to its own scent since smelling it every single second, Konan's scent was different, as if it was the most expensive perfume…no, beyond the word "expensive".

It was _priceless_.

Pain turned his head to the left, burying his nose in Konan's hair as he sniffed it deeply, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head as his Angel's smell intoxicated his senses, causing him to groan and close his Rinnegan in delight, being forced into peacefulness by the wonderful scent.

Konan felt Pain sniffing her hair, even though she was deeply asleep, causing her to groan weakly and snuggle closer to him, feeling his lips against her head, knowing that this would've been what her Nagato would've done if he was here instead of the Deva path.

With her scent burrowing into every cell of his body, Pain groaned again as he rested his left cheek on his Angel's head, now realizing why he was able to feel so peaceful, now realizing what was that happiness, that numbness and heaviness which made him look at that clearing with a different gaze. It was her- it was the sight of his peaceful Angel that made him so peaceful as well.

He never actually noticed that his Amegakure Forehead Protector was gone, and never really bothered to notice its loss.

He was better off without it.

'_I'm so happy…' _Pain thought, his smile growing bigger. The rewards which he had received in the past two days were too worthy for him, beyond what he can receive, beyond what he thinks himself worthy to receive. He did not deserve such gifts for what he had done to his Angel all this time…if at all, his Angel should be getting such rewards from _him_.

If only this body had a scent, if only it was _warm_, if only it could feel Konan's warm and smooth skin against it and supply her with the warmth she needed at the same time…

And so, shaking those thoughts away, the Rinnegan wielder continued dozing, his ears observing the melody of the clearing, the melody of his Angel's dozes, his nose observing her scent, forcing his body into deeper and deeper peacefulness with each sniff.

That was when the Rinnegan wielder knew that he could not get any happier than he is now…

"NO NARUTO STOP!"

Pain's eyes slightly squinted, thinking that he might've heard someone yelling from inside the forest. He had lost sense of time, groaning when he realized his body was heavy. He had probably fallen asleep for something like twenty minutes.

He looked at Konan and smiled weakly, his eyes narrowing slightly when he saw that she was now fully against him, having snuggled herself into his body when he was asleep, with her smile being more peaceful than ever.

"YOU IDIOT!"

Pain's eyes shot open at the sounds of running steps approached, as if someone was charging. Before he managed to digest and react, he could see a shadowy figure above him, amidst the shimmering glow of the leaves, diving at him from above.

It was holding a blue sphere of chakra, which was constantly rotating and sending blue waves of energy around it. _'Damn it!' _Pain cursed, snarling in frustration and anger, realizing that this sphere was directed to him.

Filled with deep and frantic regret for what he's about to do, yet knowing that he must do it as fast as he can, Pain instantly wrapped his second arm around Konan's shoulders and shot upwards, pulling her up together with him, pressing her against his body.

Konan's eyes shot open with a weak cry of pain, surprised and confused at Pain's drastic and unpredictable movement. "N-Nagato…" She whispered frantically, turning her look to him, weak, amber eyes. She was weakly snarling in pain, feeling like her body is being torn apart from her abdomen. "W-What's wro-"

Pain was already regretting his actions.

"RASENGAN!"

And so, a vicious explosion of chakra rocked the clearing, sending forth a cloud of earth and wood dust, scattering it all over the forest. It invaded the skies, and its traces were slightly visible from Konoha as well.

What the ones who were curiously observing the cloud didn't know was that it was marking the beginning of a vicious battle.

* * *

And so ends the sixth chapter of ANPAL with an AMAZING cliffhanger!

As most of you could probably see, the latest two chapters were mostly too emotional, and even I began thinking that the story was losing its plot. Sure we had the epic battle of Pain and Madara going on in the first three chapters of the story, but that was something else.

Now, you better get ready, because in the next two-three chapters we're about to have the action returning to us once again!

**Chapter 7- An Unexpected Enemy- Pain and Konan vs. The Eight Man Squad!** will sure get your mind screaming, your hands smashing your keyboards, and your heart pumping as we dive into yet another episode filled with action, action, action!

I would like to thank **MeleeSmasher** for his continuous support of this story, together with all of you who are still keeping up with me, whether reviewing or not. Consider the next three chapters sort of a reward for you bearing up with all of these emotionally-flooded chapters.

And yes, as you can see, the previous two chapters were only a _part _of the original Chapter 5, together with chapter 7. You can see how big it would've been. So, tune in for Chapter 7, which will most likely arrive in a week or so.

Don't forget that the button…wait, there is no button anymore. Don't forget that the textbox at the bottom of this page is the _**REVIEW **_textbox, waiting for your critique and opinion.

And so, I am forced to leave you here hanging.

See you in around a week.

Sincerely,

ForPain.


	7. An Unexpected Enemy!

**Chapter 7- An Unexpected Enemy- Pain and Konan vs. The Eight Man Squad!**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"_Past Speech."_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of its characters…and that's very fortunate because then I will have TOO MUCH to answer to from angry PainxKonan fans.**

Yes, Yes, the moment that some of you (those who are still hopefully following this story) have been waiting for is finally here! Amidst those emotionally-flooded chapters, we finally get to have some action!

In the previous chapters you were left with a horrible cliffhanger, and I'm proud to say that today you're going to get rid of those feelings of suspense and stress as you relax and sink into yet another joyful chapter.

Furthermore, I would like to thank one specific, new reader for a rather amazing review which triggered probably one of the longest PMs I have written – **Loteva**.

You wanted some action, my friend, you got it. Thank you for your support and critism, I hope there would be more readers like you.

Anyways, enjoy your reading!

* * *

The cloud of earth dust was covering the entire clearing, reducing the sight to zero. Pain's eyes were closed, yet he could still act as he wrapped his arms around Konan's body and pulled her against his chest, hearing that she began coughing and crying out weakly.

Even though they managed to dodge the blow, he still heavily regretted his actions. Tsunade told them that Konan had breathing disorders…so putting her in a middle of a dirt cloud wasn't the ideal treatment.

She was startled, panicked and frantic, just like he was, yet he could see nothing aside from the dirt, which slowly began to dissipate. His biggest fears just came true. _'Damn it! Enemies! We're being attacked!' _Pain angrily thought, snarling as he squinted his eyes, able to see the shadows of two figures at the other side of the cloud. He looked down at Konan who was currently panting and gasping, her face still buried in his chest. His arms supported her up, noting how her body was trembling, damaged from the recent startle she was forced to go through when Pain abruptly dragged her into a standing position so he could dodge the incoming attack. Not to mention that her legs were shaking heavily, unable to carry the weight of her body.

And so the cloud of dirt passed away by the soft breeze of the clearing, and Pain was able to see the sight before him once again. The tree which they were previously resting on was now shattered, scattering wooden rubble around its base. Pain noted that it could've been them instead of the tree if he didn't act.

Konan parted from his chest, trying to get some fresh air, her eyes completely widened and her pupils shrunk. She took a deep breath, only to cough up slightly and pant it all out. "Konan…I'm so sorry!" Pain frantically claimed, grabbing her shoulders with his hands and holding her firmly, his body turned to her. A few seconds and Konan managed to stabilize her breathes, shaking her head rapidly, her expression still startled, weak. _'Damn those bastards!'_

"It's…alright…" Konan managed to breathe, only to cough slightly. He could see from her shaking voice that she really sustained some heavy damage from the startle. Tears were now standing in his eyes, but Konan only smiled and turned sideways, gazing at him as she wrapped her left arm around Pain's waist and pressed her side against his.

Her legs were still shaking, and so Pain proceeded to wrap his right arm around her shoulders, his saddened, frantic expression turning into a faint smile as he supported her up. His eyes instantly returned to the two Shinobi who attacked him while his Angel was sleeping, his eyes hardening into a cold and unforgiving glare when he realized he could now see them completely.

His expression was cautious as he examined the figure to the right, noting that she seemed to be a sixteen year old Kunoichi with pink-colored hair that almost reached her shoulders. She had green-colored eyes and was wearing a grayish-white cloak, with a pair of red horizontal lines at the lower part of it.

Her comrade, the Shinobi on the right, was a spiky-haired, blonde teenager, seemingly at the age of sixteen as well, who was wearing the same cloak as his pink-haired friend. His eye color was blue, almost sapphire, a combination which was usual…unlike the whiskers which were covering his cheeks- three on each side.

"You damn idiot!" The pink haired Kunoichi raged, smacking the blonde teenager's head in raging disappointment. Whatever the conversation they were having was, it was now getting out of control. "I told you to stop! If you only waited a few more minutes instead of charging so recklessly we might've had the perfect opportunity!"

The blonde, who Pain assumed to be "Naruto", rubbed the aching spot on his head, wincing in pain from his friend's smack. "Sakura-chaaan," He whined childishly, flinching heavily. It was as if the two were joking, messing with him. "Why are you always so aggressive?"

Pain's ringed eyes hardened tenfold noticing the Konohagakure headbands Naruto and Sakura were wearing on their heads, each in a different style and form. He fumed, knowing the reason for which they're here as he assumed a defensive stance, snarling slightly, pressing the side of Konan's body against his, perking her from her thoughts and causing her to look at him. _'Damn it!' _He raged frustratingly, enraged that those two interrupted the first, most peaceful moment he ever head in the past eight years…and probably his whole life. _'I should've known…Tsunade…you Konohagakure Shinobi never change!'_

The Rinnegan wielder then glanced at Konan, having an enormous urge to hit himself upon seeing her pained, suffering expression. She was trembling, her legs wobbling as they barely managed to support her up. At that, he put more effort on his right arm, causing her to wince slightly. _'If I support her too much I'll end up hurting her.' _Pain thought, his expression saddening. Konan looked at him with an apologetic, grateful expression. She knew what he was thinking, she know how hurt his trust in Konoha and Tsunade was now.

'_I just can't believe this…' _Pain thought sadly, feeling sheer empathy and guilt overflowing his body at what he had done to Konan. _'Just when…just when she was so peaceful…Damn those bastards!' _"My Angel…I'm sorry."

Konan's eyes perked Pain's continuous apologize, again smiling slightly at his words and shaking her head. Her expression only brought more guilt into his heart, and Pain's shoulders ended up shaking slightly. "Nagato…I'm fine." Konan reassured, her voice weak, trembling, yet nevertheless she pressed herself against his body once again, her hand, which was wrapped around his waist, caressed his body slightly.

This only caused Pain to look away from Konan, unable to truly comprehend that she was now supposed to be getting the sleep she deserved so much. His shoulders continued shaking, and it was for Konan to bring her available hand forwards and rest it against his cheek, turning his face to her.

His tearing eyes met with her expression, which was now more solid and scolding, yet still smiling comfortingly. "Nagato…I said…I'm fine…" She repeated softly, her voice weak yet charming, even though it was repeatedly cut off when she inhaled for air. Her words, combined with her smile, were enough to melt through Pain's guilt, causing him to smile sadly as well.

The Akatsuki couple was now completely forgetting about their future enemies, who were standing at the other side of the clearing.

Naruto was examining Pain's figure deeply, eyes narrowed and serious, a trait which was utterly uncommon to the usually-carefree blond. _'That guy looks horrible…with those freaking piercings and all…' _Naruto thought hesitatingly, feeling his heart beating fast. He ignored the rather frustrated and angered Sakura who was at his side, more focused by the way his body was shivering slightly, excitement building up in his stomach. Something was stirring up inside him, causing his body to tremble. He had so far seen six Akatsuki members, but none of them made him feel like Pain did. _'Maybe Kakashi-sensei was correct, maybe those two really are here to prevent us from going any further. This means we're getting closer to Itachi, so these two might know where he is!'_

Naruto's eyes suddenly locked with Konan's face, seeing how she's smiling kindly and slyly at Pain, completely ignoring him and Sakura. Her captivating smile instantly froze the blonde in his tracks and plastered a blush on his whiskered face, even though that heavenly expression wasn't directed to him. _'Wow…that woman looks…normal…she's not a freak like the rest of the Akatsuki members I've seen…' _He thought, gushing at the Angel, a hint of attractiveness touching his eyes. _'Wow…she's hot.'_

Sakura noticed his captivated expression, leading her to clench both of her fists and growl at him, startling the blonde when she directed her glare to his eyes. "Don't look at them with that look!" She hissed angrily, snarling. She despised Akatsuki wholeheartedly since she found out that Sasuke's brother, Itachi, was actually one of them. And Sasori's passive assistance in Chiyo's death didn't actually ease up that hatred. "They are _Akatsuki_!"

Naruto nodded, smirking eagerly as he took a firm stance and stretched his right arm forward, pointing at Pain and Konan with a serious expression. "Oi, Akatsuki!" He shouted angrily, perking up Pain and Konan from their world and bringing them back to awareness of their surroundings. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and you now got yourselves way in over your heads! I don't know why you're here, but you're not walking away!"

Sakura smirked, getting the blonde's hint. She knew damn well that every Akatsuki member is a powerhouse, but somehow, with the Eight Man Squad covering for them in a hidden spot, she felt quite confident. "You are outnumbered and outmatched!" She pointed out angrily, taking a firm stance as well. "We give you one chance to give us the information we need about Itachi, or else you're in for a hell of a fight!"

Pain's look only hardened as he took a defensive stance, tightening his hold around the worried Angel as he pressed her body against his. _'Damn…' _He fumed again, frustrated at the abnormal situation. _'I don't know if we're outnumbered or not, those strange seals are preventing me from feeling others' presence. Even if we aren't, Konan cannot even stand! She's extremely injured and needs to rest immediately. Kami…this isn't funny…we are _defenseless_! I must seek a more peaceful way to get out of this situation…I cannot risk my Angel's safety.'_

Right next to him, Konan was looking at Pain with an extremely worried expression plastered on her face, seeing that he's deep in thoughts. She knew exactly what he was thinking about, causing her expression to sadden. She knew that she had caused all of this, that Pain was currently thinking how to make sure she's safe before finding out how to confront Naruto and Sakura.

Before she got a chance to lower her head in sadness and despair, she perked up, spotting Pain's Rinnegan widening in realization and disbelief.

"_Itachi…Just what type of person is the Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi?"_

"…"

"_Tell him."_

'_He's t__he one who screams…and charges first…' _Pain thought, dwelling on Itachi's words before he took a deep breath, a microscopic smirk tugging his lips, enough to make Konan's eyes widen when she saw it. She knew that the Rinnegan wielder must've come up with something.

Pain then glanced at her, a look of assurance and affection making its way through her most deep concerns, causing the Angel to smile confidently and nod, giving Pain the approval which he needed to continue, knowing what he was asking for.

Having her approval, Pain put on his emotionless expression, knowing that it's rather useful at such situation even as much as he despised it, though it was the cover which allowed him to be able to torture his Angel for years, to ignore her completely and attack her ruthlessly when she tried to force her way through his darkness.

Pain refrained from his defensive stance, looking at Naruto with emotionless eyes, gauging mental holes in the Jinchuuriki, who was terrified upon looking deeply into the Rinnegan. "I do not want to introduce myself like you have, Uzumaki Naruto…there is no meaning to it anyway..." Pain began, his voice deep, making Naruto and Sakura shiver upon hearing it, knowing that they're about to deal with something new. They realized Pain wasn't like the rest of the Akatsuki members they faced. "And I must say that…you are wrong. It is not me, but rather _you_ who are…way in over your heads…Kyuubi."

* * *

At the other side of the clearing, behind the rather shocked Naruto and Sakura, hiding in the bushes for the element of surprise, was the rest of the Eight Man Squad. The Eight Man Squad was deployed in order to track down Itachi and bring him captive into Konohagakure.

"That idiot!" Kiba growled, angered at the fox's rash and reckless actions, which had gone out so horribly wrong that it saddened him. He facepalmed in irritation, snarling in anger, thinking about all the possibilities they could've had for a surprise attack if he didn't act first. "What part of _team-work_ didn't he understand?!"

Akamaru, Kiba's dog, who was resting down just next to him, was able to release half a bark before Kiba muzzled his mouth with his hand, looking over his shoulder in comical rage. "That was a rhetorical question!" He hissed at the dog. Somehow, Kiba was always able to literally understand the language of his faithful companion- Akamaru.

In a crouching position, with her back facing towards Kiba and his dog, Hinata was gushing deeply at Pain and Konan with her Rinnegan. Yamato, who was kneeling on one knee right next to her, held the same expression as she did.

They both realized something's wrong.

Kiba noticed Hinata's concern, causing him to smirk amusingly. The Hyuga was always worried of every little thing involving Naruto's safety, having a huge crush on him since the day they met, but was, obviously, too shy to confess her feelings to him. "Oi, Hinata, there's nothing you need to worry about…" He assured mockingly, teasingly, wanting to shake her off from that depressed mood. "It seems that those two hadn't noticed us, then that means the element of surprise is on our side, not to mention that it can easily become an eight-against-two battle. Not only that they're outnumbered, but we have Yamato-sensei and Kakashi-sensei on our si-"

Kiba's eyes suddenly widened in surprise as he began looking everywhere frantically, seeing that Kakashi was actually not with them. "Wait, where the hell is Kakashi-sensei?!" He exclaimed quietly, not wanting to turn in their location.

"I'm not worried about Naruto's or Sakura's safety…" Hinata countered seriously, ignoring Kiba's comical and carefree antics.

Yamato, who realized what Hinata was worried about, nodded in approval, closing his eyes and groaning.

Kiba raised his eyebrow in confusion, curious about what Hinata was worried about. "Then what _are_ you worried about?" He asked quietly, narrowing his eyes comically before sighing.

Hinata's eyes narrowed, her expression almost turning into a glare as she directed it towards Konan, perking up Kiba, who was now stationed between her and Yamato. "That Akatsuki woman over there…I think she's injured." Hinata pointed out seriously, her finger slightly pointing at the Angel, perking up Kiba again. "And the man next to her…those two aren't transmitting any inner chakra as wel-"

Hinata suddenly gasped, her pupils trembling as she put both palms on her mouth, widening her eyes in horror. "W-What is that?!" She exclaimed frantically to herself, disbelieved at the sight before her.

"What is it, Hinata?" Yamato asked worryingly, concerned and quite frantic.

"T-There is chakra inside their bodies…" Hinata started shockingly, causing Yamato and Kiba to bring a confused expression, knowing that it's quite obvious. "But…all this time this chakra is being constantly molded and concentrated, but they don't seem to notice it!"

Shino who was so far quiet finally decided to stick himself into the conversation. "Strange," He pointed out, looking at Pain and Konan as well, examining them deeply. "My bugs are sensitive to high levels of chakra, which all Akatsuki members have…or so I was told. If they would've molded in the smallest amount of chakra then I would've sensed it. But so far I haven't gotten any traces of chakra from the both of them, let alone any traces of molded chakra."

Hinata looked over her shoulder at Shino. "The chakra in their bodies is being constantly molded into the shapes spheres inside their chakra pathway system…" She explained, shocking the entire group. "So far, those spheres are concentrating and compressing themselves for some reason…"

They knew one thing- chakra cannot be molded if the molder is not aware of it, and if he does there should be a sign or a gesture like a hand seal or a change in stance. But so far, it seems as if it's being molded instinctively, as if they cannot control it and aren't aware of it.

Furthermore, chakra can only be molded inside one's chakra core, which is the center of his Chakra Pathway system, a spherical core in the abdomen. Yet of Hinata managed to spot a _few _spheres…then that must mean-

"They have _more_ than one chakra core?!" Yamato exclaimed, utterly shocked and disbelieved. He instantly slapped his hand on his mouth at his strong tone, which almost gave in their location, and resumed whispering frantically. "No, Hinata, it can't be. It's both inhuman and impossible!"

"I've heard that every member in Akatsuki can be counted for as inhuman…" Sai muttered, pushing himself in, making the group feel rather uncomfortable with all of them next to each other. His expression remained emotionless and careless, in a comical way, causing a comically-afraid expression to tug Kiba's face. "I heard from Naruto that there is someone named Deidara who had mouths in his hands…as well as about Kakuzu from Kakashi-sensei, who had five hearts…could those things be counted for as human?"

"That's not the point!" Hinata snapped, looking at Sai with that same frantic expression. "Normally when the body is molding chakra, the process requires a small amount of energy to be consumed, and that energy is picked up by the Byakugan, so I can feel whether the person is molding chakra."

"So, what is your point, Hinata?" Yamato asked, narrowing his eyes.

"That I _can't _feel it! It means that somehow, their bodies consume no energy while molding their chakras...and the only way it can be done is as if it's a biological process which is a part of the body's systems!" Hinata answered, confusing both Sai and Kiba. Yamato, however, could realize what she was saying, and that could be seen on his shocked expression. "But…no one can mold chakra against their will, nor can they turn it into a biological process! It's not inhuman, it's _impossible_!"

Yamato's expression hardened even more, getting a bad feeling inside him. "Keep looking at that man, Hinata. Tell me what you can find about his insides and chakra, maybe that will give us more information about who…or _what_ he is." He muttered, looking at Pain with a hostile expression, causing Hinata's Byakugan to direct itself towards Pain. He got the feeling they weren't dealing with _normal _Akatsuki members…as much as Akatsuki members can be normal.

Hinata stared at Pain for a few seconds, her eyes narrowing slightly to see Pain's chakra better. As time passed, the group became more and more tensed, waiting to see what she will find out about that mysterious figure.

"That…man's chakra…" Hinata muttered weakly after a few seconds, her voice filled with terror as her eyes slowly widened. She didn't exactly know how to digest the sight infront of her, yet she knew that something is horribly wrong here. "It's at a way higher level than that strange colored chakra in Naruto's abdomen!"

Completely unpredictable to all of them, everyone's eyes were now fully widened, Yamato and Sai going as far as to drop their jaws in disbelief. _'That man…His chakra level is higher than half of the Kyuubi's chakra?!' _Yamato exclaimed mentally, seeing that the shocks and surprises about those two just kept coming and coming. What he didn't know that the one infront of him was a completely exhausted version of Pain, who was unaware of the current power he had. _'Who…who are those two!?'_

"Do you see any other strange traits those two have?" Sai prompted seriously, a little bit of frantic covering his expression, seeing that they may have really gotten in over their heads, and would prefer to know everything about Pain's and Konan's abilities before they'll all engage them.

Hinata nodded frantically, narrowing her eyes curiously to get a better sight at the Chakra Pathway System of Pain and Konan. "Their Chakra Pathway system…it's looking strange," She pointed out weakly, bringing up a curious expression.

"What do you mean by strange?" Kiba asked, feeling like he's unrelated to the subject, a feeling which he hated so much.

"It's different…it's a different Chakra Pathway system!" Hinata exclaimed amazingly after a few seconds, now getting a clearer sight of Pain's and Konan's chakra systems. "T-That man's Chakra Pathway System is somehow connected to his nerve system and vein system…a few chakra routes are going into his nerve system while the others are going into his veins…a-and the woman's…her Chakra Pathway System is connected entirely to every vein and organ in her body, all leading to the center of her abdomen! S-Sakura-chan told me that it is impossible for the Chakra Pathway System to make contact with different systems throughout the body…but it's here…right infront of me!"

"Then how such a thing is possible?!" Kiba exclaimed angrily, irritated and frustrated. "Do you think those two are freaks?!"

"I-I don't know…what to think anymore…" Hinata muttered, terrified. "I heard that the entire Akatsuki was made out of inhuman Shinobi…but that…that is a whole new level. To be able to break even such basic laws of existence…I don't think they can be counted as humans anymore."

* * *

Pain hummed in thoughts, contemplating some sort of a cautious plan. It could actually work, and trying it would be a lot better instead of facing Naruto and Sakura and risk his Angel's health more than it is already.

However, if it fails, and somehow Naruto or Sakura are able to see through his cover, then he and Konan will be trapped in an imminent, full-forced battle with the Kyuubi and his pink-haired friend.

Can he actually let himself putting Konan at such a risk?! Either way, they must wait for Jiraiya to come, and with Konan's physical condition, she cannot even run away if he decides that it is for the best.

Konan's eyes saddened while looking at Pain, seeing the emotions on his expression changing constantly, knowing that he's going through a deep conflict within himself. She knew exactly why he was going through it. "Nagato…" She whispered, knowing that she's a burden on his plans again, that she's weak, that her condition is what making Pain think so hard. "I'm…so sorry…"

Pain instantly looked at Konan and brought his signature, comforting smile as he shook his head slightly. He knew that this was going to be a tough situation to get out from, but nevertheless he will find a way. He must…for his Angel. "Please, do not worry, my Angel." He assured her, his voice filled with love, wanting to put some confident in the concerned and saddened Konan. "Everything will be fine…I promise."

Konan did not hesitate and nodded instantly, though couldn't help but put some more concern into her expression. She knew she could trust her Nagato with her eyes closed, knowing that he will never fail her, knowing that he will do his best, if not going beyond his limits, and even risk his own health and condition in order to keep her safe. That is why the least she could do was show some wholehearted trust in her Rinnegan wielder, to at least empower his resolve.

Seeing that he had his Angel's approval, Pain decided to go with his plan, making sure to think out every single possibility, knowing that they cannot attack, thus they are unable to do anything aside from dodging or defending themselves.

This is going to be tough…

"Yes…I remember now…" He muttered, making sure Naruto and Sakura heard his voice. Just like he expected, Naruto and Sakura instantly turned their looks to him, seeing that he began talking again. "Uzumaki Naruto…you are the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki…wonderful…"

Naruto snarled, assuming his offensive stance at Pain's words. Sakura following his steps shortly, both letting Pain know that they are ready to fight against him anytime. He will have to intimidate them, but if somehow it doesn't work!? Will he just turned in his identity for nothing?! What will be of his Angel!?

Pain soon felt Konan tightening her arm around him, her palm caressing his waist. He glanced into her melting smile, now knowing that it cannot fail, that it will not fail. There was no time from hesitation.

"No use fighting…it will not help you against me…" He deadpanned, making sure to put slight devilishness in his tone as he smirked slightly, only provoking and intimidating Naruto further. "You are prey…dooming yourselves to a painful death the moment you decided to step forward and engage your predator. Such foolishness…I must thank you for saving me the time to look for you."

"Who do you think you are talking like this!?" Naruto growled in anger, hating when he's being underestimated as he took a step forward, pointing at Pain with an angered snarl. "We killed _three _members of your damn organization. We're not scared of you, you bastard! It's two on two, and I don't think that there is much room for an underestimation here! I will take care of you in the same way I took care of that freak with the five hearts…with my fists!"

Sakura would've facepalmed at the underestimation Naruto was now showing towards Pain and Konan. "We don't know how strong you two really are…but that doesn't matter…" She stated, looking at Pain as well as she refrained from her offensive stance. "We have the advantage of the forest and environment. We can call in reinforcements any second now, and we also have backup ready if anything goes out of hand."

Naruto smirked, seeing how Konan's expression began to look slightly intimidated, unlike Pain's expression.

She knew what that meant, she knew that if there are any reinforcement nearby, who are also hostile towards them, that they may have no chance with those seals. _'Jiraiya-sensei…' _She thought desperately, begging mentally to her mentor, glancing upwards at Pain, whose expression hasn't weakened yet. _'Please hurry!'_

"Yeah, the only reason we haven't attacked you two yet is because we know that you can tell us where Itachi is!" Naruto suddenly yelled, nearly causing Sakura to facepalm at his ignorance and lack of tact. Too bad the blonde didn't understand any social clues. "If you tell us about his location, we'll let you come back with us to Konohagakure as hostages!"

There was a long silence in the clearing, making some room for the leaves to ruffle and the breeze to brew throughout the clearing, just before the room closed as Pain chuckled loudly.

Konan knew one thing- Her Nagato would n_ever _sell out a comrade. That was one of the traits passed down to him by Yahiko, who had taught him the meaning of "family" in his childhood.

"You are ignorant…" Pain deadpanned, glaring at Naruto with cold, murderous eyes. He was now irritated, he was slightly angered. The blonde had gone too far with his cockiness, he must put him in his place. "You act high and mighty…without knowing that the opponent you are about to battle is far higher than you could ever imagine. Very well…I have changed my mind…I will introduce myself in order to show you how inferior and small you are compared to me…"

Pain then folded his left forelimb towards him, pointing at himself with his thumb. He saw the two realized what he meant, seeing the blonde and his pink-haired friend tensing up, not sure if they want to figure out Pain's identity.

"You two shall refer to me as Pain…" The Rinnegan wielder began politely, tensing up Naruto and Sakura even more.

'_What a weird name…' _Naruto thought, narrowing his eyes slightly.

'_He's…actually the first Akatsuki member to introduce himself willingly to us…' _Sakura hummed, narrowing her eyes as well, glaring at the Rinnegan wielder. _'No…something's wrong here…who _is _he?!'_

"Consider this a show of sympathy…Konohagakure trash…" Pain growled.

"And your partner's name!?" Sakura shouted irritatingly, now clearly seeing that something is wrong now. Pain was showing too much politeness for an enemy, it's as if he's sure that he's going to be victorious.

Konan worryingly looked at Pain, seeing his cold glare hardening into a ferocious one as he tightened his grasp around Konan. "None of your concerns." He deadpanned, looking at Sakura with murderous eyes as well. Konan knew that he had never considered anyone worthy enough to call her by her name aside from Yahiko and Jiraiya. He was even slightly angered when Tsunade referred to her by her name, even after she saved her from death. Her name meant so much for him, and the Angel knew that it's rare for even him to refer to her by her name, as if it is a sacred word that only the worthy ones can say. Even if he spoke her name commonly, he was mostly referring to her by that romantic nickname- "my Angel", which now made her heart beat erratically into her chest.

She knew exactly why he was referring to her by that nickname now.

"All you need to know is that you two are now standing before…" Pain muttered, taking a deep, mental breath as he prepared to finish the sentence which will likely determine if his plan is to succeed or fail.

"The _leaders _of Akatsuki…"

The only thing which could've been heard after Pain's conclusion was the long silence of shock, in which the breeze and leaves stood by, and the blonde, with his pink-haired friend, tried to digest and actually comprehend Pain's claim.

Sakura took a step backwards, her eyes fully widened and her jaw dropped in utter shock and disbelief, her body trembling slightly from awe. "No…way…" She muttered, looking deeply into Pain's eyes. "That's…a lie…it can't be!"

Naruto, as well, took a step backwards in shock, slightly angered. He couldn't put on so much anger since fear was the second emotion eating him up. "You're lying!" He shouted in denial, not willing to accept the reason that the two who were standing before them were the leaders of Akatsuki. To think that he would encounter the leaders of the Akatsuki out in the open like that…no, it was too random and simple to be such a dramatic encounter. "You two can't be the leaders of Akatsuki! You're fucking playing with us!"

Pain smirked mentally, seeing that he caught the two off guard. He glanced at Konan, seeing that she didn't refrain from glancing at him, eyeing for his movements, for his emotions and thoughts. She was concerned and afraid since they had now passed the "no-return" point.

"I can guarantee you that this is the truth…but you may believe whatever you want, Kyuubi…" Pain replied emotionlessly as he looked deeply into Naruto's eyes, gauging holes in his spirit. "It is only by a mere coincidence that we have encountered you here, in the Fire Country…or maybe not. I was not intending to come after you, I was just trying to rest and relax…you have interrupted me and my Angel's private moment and used the fact that we were actually off-guard to attack us. The only reason for why I haven't killed both of you already is because you…"caught me in a good mood". I seek to resolve this situation peacefully- I have no more interest in your pitiful existence, Kyuubi boy. Run now, flee in fear back to your village and leave us be. You are lucky enough that I haven't murdered both of you on the spot for chasing Uchiha Itachi, one of my subordinates…but your chase ends here. Go back to where you belong and know your place…and I can guarantee you- stay out of our sight and we will stay out of yours."

Sakura's eyes narrowed and hardened at Pain's words as she took a defensive stance, instantly followed by her blonde comrade who knew from the start that he wasn't going to run away. "Sakura-chan…" He muttered under his breath, making sure Sakura would hear him. Her expression solidified- they weren't going to fall for Pain's offer, neither they were going to give up a chance to bring Itachi to the village, and as a result bring back Uchiha Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother.

'_Something is terribly wrong here…' _Sakura thought, her expression hardening into a glare as she began examining every inch of Pain's figure, looking for anything which could provide some sort of evidence to a weakness. _'Akatsuki had always been interested in the Bijuus…but the leaders of Akatsuki won't come all the way here just to capture a Jinchuuriki. But…if Pain is right, and he and that woman really are the leaders of Akatsuki…why does he offer to let us go instead of charging head on?!'_

'…_something doesn't add up…'_

Pain tensed up, seeing that he didn't quite manage to intimidate them to flee for their lives. _'The plan is at risk…they're trying to analyze us…' _He thought, looking at Sakura, seeing that her eyes are constantly moving, assuming that she's examining both of him and his Angel. That was when his doubts began to rise again, and they were bigger and deeper this time.

"My Angel…my love…" Pain muttered weakly, causing Konan to perk up and glance at him worryingly, seeing his doubts and concern. He looked at her, caressing her shoulder with his right hand, comforting her as his hand softly trailed to her right hand and held it tightly. Konan's expression was filled with affection and love, and she again smiled at him, seeing how he smiled at her back.

"My Konan…I want you to run…now…"

That was when Konan's expression went upside down in shock, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping, disbelieved at what her Nagato just asked her to do.

Sakura's eyes widened when she suddenly caught a glance of Pain's palm. It was barely enough, and was so far away from her that she almost thought it wasn't real. But upon narrowing her eyes, there was no doubt about it.

It was all just a big fake.

The pink Kunoichi's stance instantly went on the offensive as she looked at Naruto. "Naruto, don't fall for that!" She yelled loudly, perking up and startling the blonde, who was deeply observing both of Pain and Konan. "They both bear Chakra Seals!"

Konan's expression horrified as Pain's expression began to mix up with many emotions- concern, love, anger, happiness and of course- fear. She had now realized why he wanted her to run, and of course, she wasn't going to follow that order.

"Chakra Seals?!" Naruto asked, obviously clueless, causing Sakura to growl heavily in frustration.

"Chakra Seals are special seals which are being applied to people, mostly prisoners, to prevent them from molding chakra or exerting it at all. Not only that but it also prevents rapid, drastic muscle movements, preventing the use of physical energy during battle."

Naruto just stood there, dumbfounded and clueless, looking at Sakura with widened eyes.

"They can't fight." Sakura grunted in frustration, knowing that she now said something that Naruto will understand. She was always more and more amazed about how stupid her teammate was.

"_WHAT_?!" Naruto exclaimed in shock as loud as he could, letting what Sakura had just told him sink slowly into his mind, still dumbfounded that he was tricked and deceived so easily.

Naruto then turned to Pain and took an offensive stance followed by a single step forward, snarling at the Rinnegan wielder as he punched his own palm, showing that he's ready to battle. "You were lying to us all this time?!" He exclaimed angrily, already knowing the answer, seeing Pain taking a step forward and assuming a protective stance, wanting to protect the scared, confused and concerned Angel behind him from any harm. "Man I'm going to enjoy kicking your sorry ass so badly…Pain…if that's even your real name!"

Sakura stepped forward as well, taking an offensive stance too as she glared at the Akatsuki couple, but mostly at Konan. "Don't be so reckless, idiot!" She snapped at Naruto, not bothering to even look at him since she wanted to have both of her eyes on her opponents. "We know one thing- Those two can't fight us! And it doesn't matter if he's lying or not, he's wearing an Akatsuki cloak. We treat the two of them like any other member from the Akatsuki! Let's defeat them and take out the information about Itachi's location by force!"

Naruto nodded and smirked at Sakura's suggestion, and after readying themselves, the two Konohagakure Shinobi launched forward and began charging towards the Rinnegan wielder and the his Angel.

Pain looked over his shoulder at the worrying, panicking Konan, his eyes frantic and frustrated, but concerned and filled with love nonetheless. "Quick, my Angel, run!" He yelled at her, making sure not to startle and panic her more than she is now. "I will hold them off!"

Konan took a step backwards, feeling a sudden stab of pain in her abdomen as she almost lost her balance, not having Pain's support to stand up. She looked at Pain with begging and concerned amber eyes. "I'm not leaving you here!" She protested hesitatingly, refusing a request from her Nagato for the first time in her entire life. She felt an enormous strain of pain on her abdomen, but she wasn't going to pant or gasp now, not when her resolve was so powerful. "I'll fight by your side!"

Pain was about to reply, but then perked up, noticing that Naruto was already a few meters away from him, about to throw a hard-on, powerful punch at the Rinnegan wielder. He turned fully towards the blonde and with sharp senses instantly grabbed his fist in his palm with no effort at all, shocking the blonde, who was amazed to the core. "GO, KONAN!" He screamed pleadingly, not wanting his Angel to get hurt as he slightly struggled against the blonde. He was having his "Chakra Seals" on, but had no difficulty in blocking attacks. _'Damn it Jiraiya-sensei! Where are you?!'_

"Please, my Angel, NOW!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the amazing display of worry and concern from Pain towards Konan. He had never seen any member of Akatsuki treating in such a way to his partner. On contrary- Hidan and Kakuzu even despised each other in their blood, while Sasori and Deidara had nothing but a student-master treatment to each other. Even Itachi and Kisame, who were so far the most functional duo he had seen, were only treating each other from respect and awe.

There was one thing sure- those two were different.

Not saying a thing, filled with regret, guilt, sadness and concern, making sure to look at the Rinnegan wielder one last time, the Angel turned around slowly and began running weakly towards the trees. She wrapped one of her arms around her abdomen and snarled in pain, feeling the world spinning around as she began losing balance and slowing down.

Before she got to notice, Sakura was already blocking her path with a glare.

She clenched both of her fists, glowing-blue chakra surrounding them as she threw a single punch at the panicking Angel, who instantly sidestepped, dodging the attack by merely an inch. The Angel winced, feeling another sharp stab of pain in her abdomen. She knew that she won't be able to run, and even Pain knew that as he was looking at her with panicked and widened eyes while dodging or deflecting Naruto's attacks effortlessly.

Pain's concern then turned into rage, anger filling his heart as he began to deflect Naruto's blows with greater force, nearly sending the blonde to the ground with each deflection. If only he could attack, if only he could defeat that pathetic blonde and then launch at the pink haired Kunoichi in order to rip her body apart.

Naruto's eyes only widened at Pain's force, his jaw dropping and his stance slipping apart as he was nearly sent away with each deflection. However, his resolve only strengthened, seeing that Pain really didn't attack him on his own for some reason.

It was just in time for the realization to hit Pain's face, causing his vicious snarl to turn into a shocked expression- he cannot attack, but if he could somehow cause damage by passively defending himself, it could grant him an advantage in this battle. But will this really work?! All the Rinnegan wielder had to do was to find out for real.

Naruto tried to send a flexible, spinning roundhouse kick towards the right side of Pain's head, and that was when the Rinnegan wielder found his opportunity. He held his right forelimb to the side of his head, blocking Naruto's kick as he sent his left hand to grab his leg and merely deflect his kick to the ground, sending Naruto colliding against the grass.

As Naruto laid there, Pain began panting, feeling like he had lost half of his chakra using this deflection. He turned around, snarling as he looked at Sakura, who was now constantly trying to strike Konan down, denying her escape. He was about to dash and aid his suffering Angel, but was heavily surprised when the Naruto he was battling with all along disappeared with a cloud of smoke. _'A-A shadow clone?!' _Pain thought, only to widen his eyes even more when countless of shadow clones began charging at him from every direction, roaring.

Konan couldn't help but look at the swarms of clones which were now ganging up around Pain, her heart beaming with relief when she saw countless of smoke clouds appearing constantly, motioning Pain was beating the clones with ease.

Maybe he really found a loophole in those seal-

"Where do you think you're looking…_KONAN_?!" Sakura yelled mockingly, interrupting Konan's thoughts and causing the Angel to perk up before noticing Sakura sending a kick towards her ribs.

Konan instantly put her forelimb on the side of her body, realizing what Pain found out. Sakura perked up when her kick collided with Konan's forelimb, causing the Angel to cry out in pain, feeling like the kick shattered the bones of her forelimb.

Konan took a few steps backwards, holding her shattered forelimb with her other hand, snarling in pain, a few tears forming in the corner of her eyes. Her wound never left her, and it was only made even worse when Sakura only sent more and more blows at her, showing that she wasn't going to give her time to recover.

The Pink Kunoichi tried to send a particularly strong, yet slow punch towards the Angel, only for Konan to slightly tilt her head, dodging the punch with minimum effort. _'Strange…' _Sakura thought as she began throwing more and more punches at Konan's direction, watching the Angel wincing every time she had actually needed to move her feet in order to dodge. _'She can dodge so easily from my blows. She clearly is a member of Akatsuki, but every single time she's being forced to step she's feeling some sort of pain which causes her to wince. Maybe…yes…THAT'S IT!'_

Another two of Naruto's clones launched at Pain from different directions, only for the Rinnegan wielder to grab one of the clones' head and toss it against the other clone, causing both of them to disappear with a display of smoke.

There were now no more clones surrounding Pain, and the real Naruto was nowhere to be found. With that resolve, Pain again began running towards Konan and Sakura, a vicious snarl on his face.

A huge smile of relief and gratitude spread on Konan's face when she caught the sight of Pain approaching, causing Sakura to look over her shoulder with widened and terrified eyes, staring deeply into the murderous, enraged Rinnegan.

"Oh no you don't!"

Pain's eyes widened as many more of Naruto's clones erupted from beneath the ground together with the real Naruto, forcing him to jump upwards, effortlessly evading the clones' strikes.

One of the clones then flipped himself upside down, so his legs were now facing Pain, and looked at the Rinnegan wielder with a snarl. _'He's moving so good in combat without even throwing a punch…I don't think I want to fight this guy without those seals. Maybe…maybe he really _is _the leader of Akatsuki!' _The clone thought before sending a kick towards the Rinnegan wielder, who instantly crossed both of his forelimbs in front of his chest and blocked the clone's kick with ease, but was sent upwards because of the momentum since he had no ground to rely on for stopping force.

"Na!"

The clone then disappeared with a cloud of smoke, obstructing Pain's for a split-second. He still managed to caught the sight of two more clones emerging from the said cloud in the same position as the last clone.

One of the clones did exactly what the previous one attempted to do, and sent a kick towards Pain, who was again forced to cross both of his forelimbs in front of his chest and block the kick. However, that kick, like the last one, sent him even further into the air.

"Ru!"

Now the last noticeable clone was trying to kick the Rinnegan wielder as well, and that was when Pain knew he should make a move. The clone instantly sent another kick, attempting to hit the Rinnegan wielder even further upwards. Pain, instead of blocking once again, grabbed the clones' foot and began rotating in midair with elegance, spinning the clone with him with minimal effort.

He then let go of the clone's leg, sending him to the ground with a cry of pain. The clone collided against the grass, causing it to disappear with a cloud of smoke.

Before Pain could breathe in relief, he suddenly spotted a shadow at the ground of the clearing, a shadow in which seemed to be getting bigger and bigger with each passing second, signifying that it's coming at him from above. The Rinnegan wielder instantly glanced over his shoulder, only to see Naruto diving at him, a snarl on his face.

The blonde then sent an axe kick towards the Rinnegan wielder, wanting to smash his body with the ground of the clearing and gain the upper hand.

"Uzumaki Barra-"

Naruto never had the chance to finish his words as Pain rotated in midair, using no effort at all as he grabbed Naruto's foreleg. He then elegantly span in midair again, spinning Naruto with him as he let go of his leg and hurled him at the ground of the clearing. The blonde collided with the grass, cracking the ground and sending a small shockwave through the clearing.

'_S-Shit! I can't believe he can still overcome me so easily even with those seals! Damn it!' _Naruto fumed, closing one eye as he snarled in pain, feeling like the power of the impact from Pain's throw cracked his shoulders, while the Rinnegan wielder's powerful clutch nearly squeezed out his foreleg. Naruto couldn't endure any more pain and disappeared with a cloud of smoke, shocking the Rinnegan wielder, who then began hearing a strange sound above him. He recognized that sound- it was the sound which he heard before he and Konan were ambushed by those Konohagakure Shinobi.

The sound of…rippling chakra?!

Pain looked over his shoulder again, widening his eyes when he saw another Naruto diving at him from above. He was sure that he is the real Naruto this time, because that Naruto was doing something that the others didn't- he had a spiraling sphere of blue, glowing chakra formed in his right palm, the same sphere which he used to attack him and Konan while they were resting.

"Rasengan!" Naruto roared with a snarl as he thrust his right arm at Pain, who instantly rotated again and grabbed his right wrist with both of his hands, snarling as he looked deeply at the sphere that was now just a few inches away from his chest.

As the two were falling towards the ground of the clearing, Pain noticed Naruto's snarl growing more and more vicious. At some point, the blonde's irises turned red and his pupils became slitted. If his opponent was really the leader of the Akatsuki, the deaths of Chiyo and Asuma were all his doings. He had almost killed Kankuro, killed Gaara, who was then revived by Chiyo, and probably killed and damaged many more innocent lives throughout the Shinobi world.

The villages…their Jinchuuriki…they were all under constant threat. He knew some of those Jinchuuriki personally- some of them had their own families, their own friends, just like Gaara and him. Yet unlike them, the Jinchuuriki who were not able to survive only left behind torn families, torn friends.

Tore bonds.

Naruto began struggling harder, his power slowly overcoming Pain, who felt like he's too weak to overcome Naruto's strength. At this point, the blue chakra of the Rasengan began coloring itself in the tainted color of red, Naruto's palm turning feral, with his fingernails sharpening. The sound of the rippling chakra began getting distorted, and before Naruto got the chance to overpower Pain, and incapacitate the Deva path's body, the Rinnegan wielder instantly swung both of his arms while turning around towards the ground of the clearing, sending the original Naruto colliding with the grass like the previous clone.

Once he landed on the ground as well, Pain back-flipped multiple times, making sure to take a good distance away from the angered Naruto, who was now hidden in a cloud of earth dust. He stood at the other side of the clearing, panting slightly. _'My muscles aren't moving as efficiently as they should. Every time I try to block or deflect while bearing that damn seal…my body's sustaining damage…' _He thought, nearly wincing at a sudden stab of pain which soothed through his body. He then looked at Sakura with a weak snarl, seeing that she's slowly beginning to overpower the weak, pained Konan.

Things were turning bad.

'_Please…Jiraiya-sensei…hurry!'_

Pain's eyes slowly widened as he once again spotted Konan trying to evade Sakura's strikes, seeing her pained expression. When he spotted the tears in the corner of her squinted, amber eyes, the Rinnegan wielder couldn't take it anymore and began dashing once again towards the pink haired Kunoichi, an enraged, murderous snarl on his face, hoping that this time he'll manage to defend his Angel.

He didn't have time as Naruto erupted from the earth dust, his spiky, yellow hair turning messed and disorganized, the amazing speed of his dash sending another shockwave through the clearing. He roared viciously, a roar which fit a wild beast as he threw a punch towards the surprised, weakened Rinnegan wielder.

Pain instantly took a firm stance as he again grabbed Naruto's fist, only for his hand to be swung backwards, tilting the Rinnegan wielder's body as he winced at Naruto's sudden strength. Naruto then began sending many quick and powerful blows at the Rinnegan wielder with blinding speed, a feral roar erupting from his mouth again.

Naruto was now a lot more powerful than before, powerful enough to put more effort on each one of Pain's moves, who felt like his muscles are now aching more than ever. Now he realized why Tsunade recommended them not to try and battle while bearing those seals, it's because they are weakening them with each drastic move that they're trying to make.

With those thoughts, Pain switched to a more favored position, crossing both of his arms while looking fully at his Angel. It was a lot easier for him to just dodge instead of trying to block, with all knowledge he had about the Jinchuuriki, he knew that the more they put up the chakra of their Bijuu, the more tired they get.

Naruto only got angrier when he saw how easily Pain was dodging his fastest and strongest blows, going as far as from only tilting his body to dodge by an inch with minimum effort to sidestepping weakly. "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Naruto roared as faint, bright red chakra outlined his figure, and he resumed striking Pain fiercely, forcing the Rinnegan wielder to make big steps and move with even more speed, going as far as to bring him out of his arm-crossing position to keep up.

He was now forced to focus completely on Naruto, and could not do anything else than glancing at her every few seconds.

Konan was eventually wincing every time she tried moving her body in order to dodge Sakura's blows, causing the pink Kunoichi to smirk in dark triumph, seeing that she was gaining the upper hand majorly with her latest realization. "Having a hard time!?" She teased, getting way overconfident of herself. Konan's reply was only another wince as she dodge another one of Sakura's punches.

Sakura perked up mentally, seeing that this wince was nearly a cry of pain. She was so close to overcoming that slippery Kunoichi, who could only dodge her strikes and do nothing else at the matter. _'Here I go…' _She thought as she clenched her left fist harder, sending another powerful fist right towards Konan's face.

Konan's eyes widened and she was, again, forced to sidestep swiftly, watching as Sakura's fist passed right an inch away from the side of her head, missing its target. Her eyes suddenly widened in pain and she winced again, standing on both of her feet and holding her knees against each other, slowly bending forwards with a terrorized snarl.

She squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped both of her arms around her abdomen as tight as she could, unbearable pain tearing apart her body as she cried out weakly in pain, feeling her abdomen squeezing into itself.

Sakura's eyes widened in realization at the sight of the suffering Konan, leading her smirk to enlarge itself as she sent both of her hands towards the Angel. _'That's it!' _She thought in triumph, grabbing both of Konan's wrists viciously, causing the Angel's amber eyes to shoot open in alarm as her arms were deflected from her abdomen by Sakura.

Konan could not react nor comprehend at what was happening as Sakura's hands moved to her shoulders, squeezing her shoulder blades tightly.

Konan's eyes fully widened in horror, seeing Sakura snarling as she held her firmly, the pain tearing her body apart so much that she failed to notice the swift motion of Sakura's body.

"CHAAA!"

Time stood by at the small clearing for the Angel, and she could feel nothing for the few following seconds. Her body felt numb, yet that numbness was nothing but an illusion which slowly dissipated as her body digested the inhuman pain which was soothing into it. From that point onwards, time began flowing normally, returning her to the clearing once again.

The first thing she managed to notice was Sakura's knee burrowed into her abdomen.

Konan's body bended forward heavily, a terrified expression gauging through her face, her eyes fully widened as she snarled in pain, large amounts of blood gushing out from between her teeth, flowing down her chin.

It took the Angel time to dissect and comprehend the unimaginable, piercing pain which was brought upon her, feeling her insides tearing apart. The pain, in fact, was so horrible that for a second there she didn't feel anything.

The Angel froze in her place for a few seconds, her eyes widening even more as her jaw dropped completely to puke out a pool of blood on the grass, tainting it in the color of deep red. Her body was slowly realizing what just happened.

It was only then when a sheer shriek of pain tore through Konohagakure's forest, scaring off a few flocks of birds from the trees, stopping the breeze and clouds in their tracks, echoing through the skies…

Echoing through Pain's ears.

The Rinnegan wielder, who was at the process of sidestepping one of Naruto's punches, froze in his tracks, his eyes widening completely as he turned his head towards his Angel, feeling his heart squeezing and his eyes widening, everything slowing down around him.

His face completely horrified, seeing his Angel's devastated face, seeing the blood which was gushing out of her mouth, her squeezed, amber eyes which were throwing away tears down her cheeks. His heart was shattered to pieces at that moment, feeling his bodyweight multiplying tenfold as tears flooded his eyes.

"No…NOOOO!"

Naruto also turned his head to look at the direction Pain was looking towards, and upon seeing the sight of Konan, he couldn't help but bring out the same expression as Pain did, his eyes instantly turning back to their normal, blue form.

The anger and hatred which were fueling the Kyuubi's chakra were completely replaced by shock and disbelief.

* * *

A loud gasp could be heard behind the bushes at the other side of the clearing as Hinata put both of her hands on her mouth, her eyes widened and her Byakugan trembling. She could see Konan's body going insane from the pain with her Byakugan, and that wasn't the prettiest sight to look at. Why does she feel so sad seeing Konan, a member of the Akatsuki, hurt!?

Yamato put his hand on his shoulder, wrapping his other arm around the Hyuga so he could turn her face away from the scene. He couldn't help but close his eyes as well, having a hard time watching this as much as Hinata did.

Kiba, on the other hand, cheered in joy, grinning as he closed his eyes. "Yes!" He cheered, thrusting his fist to the air. Akamaru also released a bark of joy, agreeing with his master. "A direct hit!"

"They…they don't deserve this…" Hinata muttered sadly, realizing why she was so concerned and worried towards Pain and Konan, realizing why she felt so bad seeing them fighting against Naruto and Sakura. "T -They didn't even want to battle Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan…they just…forced them to battle against their will…this…this is wrong!"

Kiba's and Sai's expressions were replaced from rather joyful to horrified and confused at Hinata's words. "Did you hear what that bastard Pain said?!" Kiba exclaimed angrily, causing Hinata to jump in her place. "They wanted to kill us all and prevent us from capturing Itachi! How can you feel bad for people like them!?"

"How can they possibly want to do this when they can't even _fight_!?" Hinata protested with equal anger, looking over her shoulder at Kiba as she parted from Yamato's hold. "Pain said that because he wanted to protect that woman! He wouldn't think about fighting us when he can't even fight…I'm sure of it!"

Kiba just shrugged carelessly at Hinata's protest, not quite carrying whether she was showing mercy on them or not.

* * *

Seeing that she struck exactly where she desired, and seeing that her suspicions for Konan bearing a wound in her abdomen were right, Sakura released her hold from Konan's shoulders. The Angel instantly dropped to her knees, crying heavily as she bended forwards completely and buried her forehead in the grass, snarling from the vicious pain. Another stab tore her apart, causing the Angel to release another scream, silencing everything once again.

Sakura smirked in victory, sickly pleasured by the sight of the wounded Angel. But no, this was not enough, she had now begun thinking about the message she was sending Pain, the message not to mess with Konohagakure, to finally rid her comrades from that horrible Akatsuki.

The pink Kunoichi glanced at the Rinnegan wielder, seeing his body trembling to the bone as he began running towards Konan, his sobbing eyes fully widened. She hardened her expression, seeing a shocked Naruto just standing behind, his widened eyes locked with Konan.

He just stood there, allowing Pain to continue his approach, without doing a single thing to stop him.

When she made sure that an eye contact was made between her and the leader of Akatsuki, Sakura's smirk grew bigger before she kicked Konan's right shoulder as strong as she could, her leg crashing Konan's shoulder-blade. The Angel was sent flying towards Pain with another scream, her eyes still closed shut.

"KONAAAAAN!" Pain screamed in horror, his expression devastated and terrified as he witnessed the injured Konan approaching him.

Without hesitating for a split second, the Rinnegan wielder instantly spread both of his arms to the sides and wrapped them around his Angel as soon as she collided against him, not caring for the sheer force of the impact. The moment the collision occurred, the Rinnegan wielder was sent flying as well, still hugging Konan with both of his arms.

He couldn't find the reflexes and instincts to keep himself on ground and stop the momentum of Sakura's kick, as weak as it was compared to his strength.

Pain's back soon collided with one of the trees' bole, cracking it heavily and scattering some wood parts over the clearing. He didn't do anything that would motion any pain from his close meeting with the tree, he was just focused on his Angel, his arms wrapped around her midsection tightly.

He could feel her blood staining her Akatsuki cloak, dripping to his hands and from his hands to her cloak once again.

He dropped on the grass, still hugging his Angel as tight as he could, burying her face in his chest as he buried his in her head. Konan then began releasing constant screams of pain into his body, her insides tearing apart as she wrapped her arms around his back. On instincts, her body recognized who was holding her, even though she wasn't fully conscious at this point, causing her forelimbs to fold upwards and clutch his upper back as tight as she could, her fingernails almost tearing apart through his cloak.

The Rinnegan wielder was now near the point of hypertilating, the amount of stress and panic put on him too high for his body to handle.

Naruto stood there, eyes widened in shock and surprise at Pain's reaction- not only that he allowed himself to turn his back against his opponent even while he was fighting, but he also protected Konan and embraced her with no hesitation whatsoever. He was looking deeply at Pain's hypertilating expression, seeing tears endlessly rolling down his cheeks as he buried his eyes in Konan's blue hair, listening to her screams as he tightened his hug around her.

The blonde didn't know why the Angel was screaming so loudly, but as soon as he looked at Sakura, who was looking at the Akatsuki couple with a smirk, her knee stained with Konan's blood which was dripping on the grass, the fox kid had no difficulty to realize what had happened.

'_Sakura-chan…' _He thought, feeling that strange feeling of deep remorse and empathy rising up from within him as he saw Pain trying to comfort Konan with every means necessary.

Konan's cries and screams of pain began to weaken as Pain felt her clutch on his upper back softening, slowly sliding down his back before falling down and resting on the grass.

Her screams finally ceased, quieting down the clearing itself, the entire forest, the rest of Pain's world with dead silence.

Pain's eyes were even more widened right now, seeing that his Angel had lost consciousness from the stress and pain which was put on her because of her wound. He instantly rested her back on the grass, her front body turned to him and then kneeled beside her. He bended forwards, pinning his forehead against hers and clutching her hair, sobbing deeply.

He could still feel her breath against his face, causing his eyes to snap open as he straightened himself and sent both of his hands to clutch the middle part of his Angel's Akatsuki cloak. Somehow he managed to think correctly and know that sitting there and crying while his Angel is bleeding wouldn't help at all, he mustn't lose his mind right now, he mustn't…for her, in order to keep his Angel safe.

He was about to spring into action too quickly, preparing himself to do anything in order to save his Angel. Pain then perked up, his jaw dropping in surprise as he felt someone pinning their front body against his back, and before he got any chance to react or take an action, an arm was wrapped around his throat tightly, its forelimb squeezing his neck. His body then unwillingly bended forwards, as much as Pain tried to protest, attempting to clutch down Konan's Akatsuki cloak. The one behind him simply bended forwards with greater force once again, his forelimb chocking down Pain's neck, forcing his hands away from Konan's cloak.

Both of Pain's hands instantly grabbed the forelimb which was choking him, only for it to harden against his neck, forcing a cry of choke from the Rinnegan wielder. He didn't feel any pain, no, yet he was just acting on pure instincts alone- he didn't want the Deva path's vocal cords to ruin. "Don't even try…" An unrecognized voice deadpanned coldly from behind, and Pain could see another hand holding a kunai moving to his chin from behind. "If you want to keep your head on, I suggest you stand still."

Pain snarled in uncontrollable rage before he glanced over his shoulder, his enraged Rinnegan eyes meeting a _very _familiar face, a face he wasn't hoping nor wanting to see now. The man behind him was no one but Hatake Kakashi, which was nicknamed "The Copying Ninja".

* * *

Behind the bushes, Kiba's eyes widened in surprise, seeing how Kakashi captured Pain at his weakest moment. "So _that's _where Kakashi-sensei was!" He yelled in realization, grinning in victory. "God how awesome he is for capturing that Akatsuki bastard!"

Shino, who was rather silent all this time, turned to Kiba, slightly irritated, even though his emotionally-deadened expression was still there, as if it was glued to his face. His presence, in combination with Sai's, really put some stress on Kiba's mind. "Kiba," He started coolly, with his regular, scolding tone that everyone hated. "I don't think you should be too happy…"

Kiba instantly looked over his shoulder at the bug-user, slightly provoked and tempered by his scolding voice. "Why are you saying that!?" He exclaimed angrily, trying to turn the rest of his body to Shino but to no avail as he was in a tight, uncomfortable spot between Akamaru, Hinata, and Yamato. He was unable to notice the sad expression on Hinata's face, which was now locked with the unconscious Konan. "You make it sound like _they're _the good guys!"

Sai, who was right next to Shino, looked at Kiba with a scolding, protesting expression. "Shino is correct. Those Akatsuki members hadn't done anything bad to us." He added, supporting Shino's claim and irritating Kiba even more. "We attacked them and forced them into an unnecessary fight while taking advantage of the fact that they are defenseless. Even _if _that Pain is the leader of that organization, what we are doing to him right now doesn't really make us any better…"

Kiba was now looking at the two with an expression made out from disbelief and shock, amazed they were actually taking Akatsuki's side. "You're taking _his _side?!" He exclaimed, a partial-snarl on his face. Akamaru lowered his head to the grass with a sad look in his ever-closed eyes, sad to see his master angry.

"Kiba, enough!" Yamato snapped with a scolding tone, not turning to look over his shoulder at the three. He had enough of those three's argument, and was irritated that their antics are interrupting him from focusing on Pain's strange eye pattern, a pattern that he had never seen before. "We aren't taking your side, and we're _definitely _not taking Akatsuki's side. What they have done is unforgivable and will remain that way…but what we do currently doesn't make us any better than them. However, it must be done- if Pain is the leader of the Akatsuki we cannot show mercy, no matter how bad this situation looks!"

Seeing that he cannot argue over his position anymore, Kiba just huffed and looked away in frustration.

* * *

Pain couldn't hide the panic and devastation in his snarl, turning his eyes and looking back at his unconscious Angel. Upon remembering Tsunade's words, having them echoing through his mind, the Rinnegan wielder began panicking even more.

"_If this wound will sustain even the slightest amount of damage, it will reopen, and by that I mean that Konan will begin losing immense amounts of blood every second…if this happens, it won't be long before she…"_

Kakashi was holding him down with his hand, and Pain knew that if he is to make the slightest drastic movement Kakashi will attempt to slice his throat. _'The Deva Path had only recently been repaired…its physical condition's still weak…if it'll get decapitated again…' _He thought, his eyes widening even more when he saw Konan's skin getting paler and paler. She didn't have much time left from now, only increasing Pain's already grown panic.

Sakura was just at the other side of the clearing, her cold eyes locked with Pain's enraged, panicked ones. She brought a satisfied smirk, seeing what she had done to the two leaders of Akatsuki, seeing that Konoha was victorious in this battle.

Naruto had a hard time getting satisfied from such a sight, but nevertheless he took a firm standing and pointed at Pain. "You lost, Pain!" He concluded angrily, determination appearing on his enraged snarl as his eyes locked with the Rinnegan wielder's face. He stretched his right arm and angrily pointed at him. "NOW TELL US WHERE ITACHI IS!"

"I…don't…know." Pain managed to choke out, both of his hands gripping tightly onto Kakashi's forelimb. Kakashi noted how powerful Pain's grip was, so in order to subdue him he tightened the hold around his neck even further, causing Pain to soften his grasp.

"DON'T LIE TO US!" Sakura raged, frustrated by all she had to do in order to bring Pain and Konan to this situation. The thoughts about Itachi and the Akatsuki only led her to think about Sasuke's betrayal, making her more and more enraged. "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHERE HE IS! DON'T PLAY DUMB!"

Pain truly didn't know where Itachi was. Well, he sort of knew, due to the fact that he had absorbed Madara's memories, which included the current location of Itachi in them…but since he had spent so much chakra on repairing the Deva path's body, he had no chakra to spare in order to clear out those memories. Besides, he was more focused on his poor, dying Angel to recall anything like that.

The thought about his Angel only panicked him even more as Pain returned to look at Konan, seeing that the blood just kept gushing out of her wound into her clothes and soak into the grass. This sight was enough to throw him off the edge, knowing that he needs to save Konan any way he can. "LET ME GO!" He roared, a bit of begging in his enraged and devastated tone, unable to take it anymore. He got more and more panicked with every passing second. He was right- Konohagakure's Shinobi hadn't changed at all. They're still heartless and unforgiving. "You Konohagakure bastards…I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"

"You're not in a position to threaten us…" Kakashi deadpanned, perking Pain up in even more rage. The Copy Ninja then looked downwards at Konan, seeing the bloody condition she was in, and couldn't help but to feel sympathy towards the two Akatsuki members. Nevertheless, his hatred and grudge towards the organization quickly quelled down those emotions. "Your friend…she's dying. I can see that she's important to you…Tell us where Itachi is and we'll let you go."

Sakura glared at Kakashi, disliking the fact that now he made such a deal with Pain. She then perked up and brought a small, dark smirk, seeing the Copy Ninja was actually fooling him. _'Even I can see that nothing can close that wound she has now…' _She thought satisfyingly, glancing at Naruto who was standing next to her, looking at Pain deeply. _'And with those Chakra Seals, even after we let him go he won't be able to fight back. Nice work, Kakashi-sensei.'_

"I told you…I don't know…I don't know…" Pain said whisperingly, his voice shaking as he was nearing panicking sobs, looking at Konan's unconscious face, seeing how she gasped and panted. He didn't have the power to do anything at this point because of his Chakra Seals. All he had left to try is to beg for his Angel's life before he'll crumble.

The Rinnegan wielder knew that there is no way they'll believe him if he told them about everything that's happened to him and Konan in the recent days…it wouldn't even matter to them. They judged him and Konan under the label of the old, tainted Akatsuki. He never knew why he didn't do the same.

"Please…just go away…just go away…you brought so much pain upon us already…" Pain began sobbing at this point, tears forming in the corners of his eyes from the emotions quarreling inside him. He lowered his head as much as he could with Kakashi's forelimb against his throat, attempting to reach his Angel with his face. Kakashi just pulled him backwards mercilessly, even though now he was feeling sorry for the Rinnegan wielder. "If you don't go away and leave us alone…I swear I'll burn your entire village to the ground…I will slaughter every single one of you…you're not able to possibly comprehend to the smallest bit about the pain that I will bring upon you…Konohagakure scum…Konohagakure trash..."

The memories about the Konohagakure ninjas who killed his parents began to flood Pain's mind, and he found himself only angered even more, lifting his head back upwards, his expression turned into an enraged snarl. Kakashi's eyes perked as he threw the kunai away from his left hand and replaced it with the electrifying, screaming sound of his Raikiri. Pain silenced himself down, trying to control himself as much as he could. "In that case…you won't be walking out of he-"

And so, the breezes once again brew through the clearing, the unexpected dead silence tearing through the fluttered leaves, not the weakest sound was heard, as if it the clearing was shaking in fear.

After a few seconds, the breeze died down, leaving the silence alone.

Naruto slowly widened his eyes at the feeling of a kunai pressed against his throat by a very familiar hand, freezing him in his place. His jaw dropped in disbelief when he looked at Kakashi and Pain, seeing that both of their jaws were completely dropped, their eyes were widened in shock and disbelief.

Even Kakashi couldn't process the sight infront of him.

He then glanced at Sakura who was two inches far from him, seeing that she was bearing the same expression as all three of them, frozen in her tracks, with a copy of that same hand pressing a kunai against her throat as well. She was glancing at Naruto, the disbelieving, green eyes filled with horror and confusion.

Naruto just glanced over his shoulder slightly, not wanting to believe that the figure behind him was the one he thought it was. He just looked at the figure's unfamiliar expression, awestruck and horrified, his body shaken to the bone.

The clearing's dead silence continued, like it was paying it was tamed by the figure…by its power…by its hatred.

"P-P-Pervy…Sage?"

Jiraiya's cold eyes, which were filled with restrained rage and hatred, were locked with Konan's pale face before traveling to her bleeding abdomen…and then made their way upwards, locking themselves with Pain's disbelieved eyes, seeing that they were now filled with tears of relief.

The cold Toad Sage then slowly looked at Kakashi, their eyes locked with each other, the atmosphere tensing up to a point of a climax as Jiraiya pressed the kunaies against Naruto's and Sakura's throats even further. His expression bore an incredibly cold and hating glare, almost rivaling Pain's, and Kakashi knew one thing- the one he was looking at was _definitely _not Jiraiya…

It can't be him.

"Let him go…" Jiraiya's cold hiss echoed through Naruto's ears, and it felt as if the entire clearing just froze in its tracks.

* * *

My god the SUSPENSE!

And so comes forth the ending of ANPAL's _seventh _and probably one most horrible cliff-hanging chapters this story has ever known.

So, Jiraiya finally enters the scene…a little late, aren't we? I would like the thank the readers who were bearing up with me, and specify a few things before I leave you be.

The next…hmmm…3 chapters will be chapters filled with ACTION, ACTION, ACTION! Even though the next chapter will be more of a conversation than an action. After that we will be entering a short series of a few chapters before leaving off to our next arc which is likely 6-10 chapters long…and these chapters will filled with nothing but ACTION, ACTION, ACTION! Of course, not that I had something like this planned for all of you. Pff…me? Planning something like that for my readers? Don't make me laugh…ha ha…ha ha…sarcasm.

Anyways, I will see you in a week or so as we begin our new **Chapter 8- Jiraiya's Gifts- The Seals of Heaven! **

Have a good day…

ForPain.

Oh right, I would like to remind you to follow me downwards to the nice textbox where you can voice your opinions and make yourself heard. I again note that I _am _reading reviews and PMs, and am replying those who caught my eye, so never think you will go unheard.

But not flame, no, we say **NAY **to flamers! NAY!

So, remember to scroll down to the…_**REVIEW **_textbox below.


	8. Jirayia's Gifts!

**Chapter 8- Jiraiya's Gifts- The Seals Of Heaven!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden, and now that this is out of my chest, let us continue.**

"Speech"

'_Thoughts'_

"_Past Speech"_

**WARNING- this chapter is mainly consisted of a horribly long conversation that will most likely make most of the readers tear apart their computer screen. However, as long as rough this conversation might be, it is crucial for the full understanding of ANPAL and cannot be skipped by any means necessary!**

Hello, my dear readers, I am back with the _eighth _chapter of ANPAL! Previously we have left off with a massive cliff-hanger that probably bothered you, and me as well, throughout this entire week. This chapter, as much as I hate to say it, will be mostly verbal, just like Chapter 6, so for those who do not like long conversation taking around 7,500 words, please, have patience.

This chapter is purely essential to the plot of ANPAL, as half of it reveals a past event (which I will not tell), and the other half supplies information about Pain and Konan's seals, which will accompany us throughout the story.

However, I can guarantee that the chapter afterwards will be FILLED WITH ACTION! So hang on to your seats and your keyboards, prepare some popcorn (or whatever you love to eat), and enjoy the chapter.

By the way, I am currently aware of the fact that Tobi (Madara in ANPAL) is…

**MAJOR ANIME SPOILERS AHEAD!**

.

.

.

.

Not Madara (those who know his true identity should keep it to themselves. I know his identity as well).

However, it does not bother me whether he's Madara or not, we're staying loyal to the old content of the Naruto series. Our Tobi is pure MADARA UCHIHA, both when he lived and when he died.

I will supply additional information about the case of Tobi's identity at the end of the chapter.

Have a nice reading.

* * *

The shock could be _heard _around the clearing once Jiraiya had emerged into it, silencing every single inch of the forest as he shockingly grabbed both of Naruto and Sakura hostages.

Each one of the Eight Man Squad couldn't believe their eyes and minds upon seeing Jiraiya's actions, and were unable to believe their ears once they heard his words as well. It was too much of a shock, too much of a surprise.

Yamato stared at Jiraiya deeply, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in denial and surprise. "J-Jiraiya-Sama?!" He exclaimed shockingly, taken aback by the sight, awestruck by his expression, by his actions. "H-How can he be here?! What the hell is he doing?!"

'_D-Did Jiraiya-sama come to Pain's aid?!' _Hinata thought, disbelieved that Jiraiya could take his own student, Naruto, hostage. What confused her eyes even further was his newfound expression, an expression that the normally-happy Toad Sage had never shown before. _'W-What's going on?!'_

The shock was so much, beyond words, and every single Shinobi in the clearing had one question in their minds-

"Is Jiraiya-sama…cooperating with Akatsuki?!" Kiba finally exclaimed, breaking the eyes and causing the group to widen their eyes and drop their jaws, just like Yamato.

"N-No way, Jiraiya Sama would never cooperate with Akatsuki!" Yamato answered angrily, taking Kiba aback as he looked over his shoulder, a snarl on his face. The Wood Element User's expression then saddened and turned into one of hesitation and confusion as he continued looking at the unfamiliar Toad Sage. Jiraiya would never do such a thing. "He has no reason to!"

* * *

Jiraiya was staring deeply into Kakashi's eyes, freezing him, shocking him to the core. The Copy Ninja have never seen such an expression on the Toad Sage's face, and the confusion was eating him alive.

'_Jiraiya-sama…what on Kami is going on around here?! He's supposed to be at Amegakure right now!' _Kakashi questioned himself mentally, his frantic thoughts roaming through his mind at the shocking, abnormal situation. Why on earth would Jiraiya want the _leader _of Akatsuki released?! _'H-He came to Pain's aid?! No, something doesn't add up…there's no chance I'm going to-'_

"DIDN'T YOU HEAR ME, KAKASHI?!" Jiraiya suddenly raged, seeing Pain's widened, horrified eyes widening even more when Konan's body began struggling for air. It was just as Jiraiya expected- at that point, Konan's hand suddenly began caressing the grass, seconds before it touched Pain's own hand and tried to hold it weakly. Now both of Pain and Konan didn't have much time left- Konan would lose her life out of blood loss and Pain will lose his mind with her.

His outburst rocked down Naruto's and Kakashi's hearts, widening their eyes even further and almost causing them to skip beats. Naruto had never heard such a tone coming from the Toad Sage's lips…heck, even Kakashi never heard Jiraiya raging like that in all his years.

"RELEASE PAIN AT ONCE!"

Kakashi never had the time to think or process Jiraiya's request as the Toad Sage then pressed his kunaies against Naruto's and Sakura's throats, pressuring them with a cold, enraged glare, showing the Copying Ninja that he's dead serious about his request.

"P-Pervy-Sage…" Naruto muttered, his voice shaking in sadness and shock, a few tears forming in the corner of his eyes. He couldn't possibly comprehend on this situation infront of him. His shock rendered him speechless beyond imagination, same with Sakura.

"W-Why are you doing this? What happened to you, Pervy Sage?"

Deciding that he did not want to temper "Jiraiya" any further, Kakashi's Raikiri slowly died down as he drew his hand away, slowly letting go of Pain's throat. Time stood by, until Kakashi finally removed his hands from Pain's body, showing Jiraiya's his bare palms, signifying that he's willing to comply.

And in a blink of an eye Pain was tearing open Konan's Akatsuki cloak with great panic, snapping the buttons of her cloak carelessly as he split the cloak apart, exposing deep-blooded bandages into his horrified eyes. Without hesitating, and probably not taking time to think, Pain buried his ear into Konan's cleavage, wanting to hear anything that will mention that she's still there, that she's still with him. looking horrified at the deep-blooded bandages which were wrapped around her abdomen. The Rinnegan wielder instantly put his ear tightly against his Angel's cleavage, listening for anything that will mention that she's still among the living.

Pain's expression was filled with terror, barely able to hear weak, erratic heartbeats from his Angel's chest. They were slow, yet powerful. "JIRAIYA-SENSEI!" He screamed in horror, his voice on the edge of tears and panic, shaking. "KONAN…S-SHE'S…SHE'S…"

Jiraiya's cold glare instantly horrified as well, and he took no time as he tossed both of his kunaies away carelessly and removed his forelimbs from Naruto's and Sakura's throats, frantically running towards the Rinnegan wielder.

Seeing that he was approaching him as well, Kakashi instantly dashed away from behind Pain and took his place next to Naruto and Sakura, supporting them while they regained the precious air, their legs almost failing them.

Naruto stared at Jiraiya in disbelief, seeing that he was instantly kneeling near the panicking Akatsuki leader, an expression of deep sympathy and horror on his face. For some reason, he was more shocked now than he was before. _'S-Sensei?!' _The blonde thought shockingly, not believing his ears. _'D-Did Pain just called him his _Sensei_?!'_

Jiraiya gave a quick look at the bandages tainted with blood before looking at Pain, seeing that he was still pinning his head to her chest. His eyes were closed, but when Jiraiya looked at him, the Rinnegan wielder instantly opened his ringed eyes and look at Jiraiya with a panicked, screaming-ready expression, a look that had been growing more horrific every second.

Jiraiya frowned, knowing that there is no way any medical-nin will be able to treat Konan's wound at this point- it had been reopened, and the Toad Sage knew that there is only one way to close it without causing any further damage. _'I never thought it would come to this so quickly…' _The Toad Sage thought, not hesitating for a second as he tore apart Konan's bandages, exposing her abdomen and wound, which were both hidden by a large amount of blood. He then closed his eyes and wiped Konan's abdomen clean so there were now three small pools of blood gushing out of the holes in her wound, the deep-red liquid soaking into the grass. _'I have no choice…I will have to…'_

Jiraiya then began forming countless of hand seals at neck-breaking speed, in such a way that even Pain had a difficult time following his movements. The Rinnegan wielder knew one thing- he had never seen such a combination of hand seals, nevertheless he had never knew that such a long series of hand seals existed.

A few seconds passed, and Jiraiya then rammed both of his hands together as his eyes shot open, sending weak gusts through the clearing, and causing Pain's eyes widened in surprise when both of his palms began glowing in a very strong aura of bright green, containing countless of white dots within it.

Jiraiya then separated his hands and stretched them into his left and right. "Heavenly Sealing Release: The Life Seal of Heaven…" The Toad Sage muttered weakly as he put both of his palms on Konan's abdomen and closed his eyes shut, concentrating, a weak snarl appearing on his face.

Suddenly, the black circles in Konan's palms began to glow in a brilliant color of bright green and white, matching the color of the glow which engulfed Jiraiya's hands. The circles in her palms then began extending a few narrow lines, which were in the same color as well, shocking Pain to the bone when they began climbing up her wrists and forelimbs, as if they were alive.

The lines were constantly bending and crossing each other while they were climbing upwards into the sleeves of Konan's Akatsuki cloak, continuing their journey beneath it. They then emerged into her exposed shoulders, wasting no time as they continued right beneath her top, as if they were hiding from Pain's eyes which were still following them.

The lines then emerged back from the abdominal part of Konan's top, greater in numbers than before, as if they were slowly grouping together. Pain only watched in awe when some of the lines united with each other in a circular formation, forming a circle at the center of her abdomen, where Jiraiya was putting his palms. The rest of the lines just continued downwards into Konan's waist and then beneath her pants.

That amazing display had made Pain hit his realization- those seals that he and Konan carried with them were definitely _not _the said Chakra Seals. He now recalled Tsunade's words once again.

"_That is why he gave you these seals. All he told me that they will keep you safe."_

Jiraiya began flinching and snarling as the circle on Konan's abdomen glowed stronger and stronger, reaching a nearly-blinding glow which was soon adopted by every single line on Konan's body, including the circles in her palms. Soon afterwards, Konan's entire abdomen was engulfed in a bright green glow with white sparkles flowing through it, matching the normal color of the lines. Pain was just staring in awe at that abnormal technique, a technique he had never heard of nor had ever seen before. _'Damn…' _Jiraiya thought to himself, feeling as if Konan's abdomen was eating out all of his chakra, draining it hungrily. _'I just hope I have…enough chakra left to close that wound.'_

A few more seconds passed, and Pain noticed that Konan's skin was returning to its normal color of beautiful pale, her breath becoming stable together with her pulse and her heart. He looked at Jiraiya as if he had just seen the ghost of his dead friend Yahiko, with eyes completely widened and jaw dropped in disbelief. Jiraiya just smiled warmly and looked at Pain with his eyes closed. "Don't worry, Nagato…" He assured, knowing that Pain had already made his identity clear to him, his warm smile slowly turning into a grin. "Konan will be fine, I give you my word."

Having received his Sensei's assurance, Pain sighed mentally as he straightened himself up, removing his head from Konan's chest and his hand from her neck, taking on a seiza sitting position and nearing himself to Jiraiya.

He should've just jumped on top of his Angel and hug her tightly, panting from relief into his body, yet the Rinnegan wielder knew that he can save that for another time- that now, there were more important things in hand. "Jiraiya-sensei…" He muttered, causing Jiraiya to smile sadly, knowing what he's about to say. Yes, his student _did _deserve an explanation after all he had been through. And the Toad Sage knew that his apprentice had so many questions in his head. "What is going on around here?"

Jiraiya nodded in approval, knowing what Pain wanted to know- he wanted to know _everything_, every slight detail. "I believe I need to give you a full explanation. Those seals, as you have already been informed from Tsunade, are…"gifts"…" He began, causing Pain to perk up at his last word. He didn't know how to put it in a way that Pain will understand. "Gifts for me to you and Konan, gifts for a better future…gifts I have long since thought I will never be able to give you."

Pain's expression turned enraged, denying his Sensei's explanation as he snarled. "Those "gifts" were the reason Konan is like this now!" He snapped angrily, his angered eyes gauging up Jiraiya. "Those "gifts" prevented me from fighting and protecting my Angel!"

"I know, and I apologize." Jiraiya said sadly, glancing at Konan's abdomen, avoiding Pain's scolding gaze. "You two getting attacked was…an unpredictable possibility. I'm sorry, but you need to know that those seals actually give you an advantage on-"

"Advantage?!" Pain exclaimed angrily, remembering how he couldn't attack Naruto, and more importantly- defend Konan throughout his battle. He remembered how he wasn't able to charge and assist Konan in her escape, how he had to scream at her to run. "Those seals are nothing but a burden, Sensei! Those things…those seals of yours caused all of this! They did nothing but preventing us to battle and blocking our chakra!"

Jiraiya shook his head, denying Pain, causing the Rinnegan wielder to bring a skeptical expression. "Those seals aren't blocking your chakra…it was never mentioned that they did. The truth is that they're actually _molding _it in various spots throughout your body. You already know what molding chakra means, you already know that when your body is molding its chakra, you cannot battle, but only defend yourself. That is exactly the thing- those seals are actually triggering a new biological process, an irrational instinct of constant chakra-molding." He explained, widening Pain's eyes in surprise. He didn't know such a thing was even possible, and he had seen _many _impossible things throughout his life. Heck, he's one of the greatest source of the fact that inhuman Shinobi can exist. "The thing is that you cannot battle while they're doing so, like I said, and that you cannot control or reject that process. As long as those seals are deactivated, your body is going through a process of eternal molding. Another topic- when I formed those seals on you, they have modified the structure of your chakra pathway system in order to suit their requirements and abilities. While a normal chakra pathway system has only one core which can be found at the abdomen, _your _chakra pathway system has several cores where your chakra is being constantly molded. Having several chakra cores means that the entire process of molding chakra is easier on the body itself, bearing a smaller toll on it. I will not get into details of how it can make chakra-molding a biological process, I want to end this explanation _today_. One of the other benefits of those seals is that it doubles your and Konan's chakra production speed nearly tenfold, and each core gets a certain amount of that chakra to mold, depends on its size and location. In you chakra pathway systems' cores, your chakras are being constantly gathered and molded until the time in which they will be activated, and when they do, the entire process of chakra molding stops, and then you are able to battle as much as you like, and not only that, you will also be stronger."

Pain lifted his eyebrow, having a hard time digesting all of that confusing information. He dwelled on his last words, claiming that he will be stronger while fighting with those seals, yet he didn't want to interrupt Jiraiya's words. He knew that his Sensei will cover this subject completely. "Tsunade had mentioned that Konan's entire chakra production speed was decreased by half because of her wound." He pointed out, causing Jiraiya to bring an interested expression at his words. "Yet you say that her chakra production speed was doubled tenfold."

Jiraiya shook his head at Pain's sayings, making the Rinnegan wielder even more confused. He had no time for mathematics at such a point. "Listen- while the seals themselves are activated, your chakras are being constantly consumed by your bodies in order to strengthen you." He explained, looking at Pain with a gifting smile. "To be precise in proportions, the amount of chakra your bodies will consume when the seals are activated is doubled by ten as well...I'm just using the numbers as example. I cannot possibly tell how much your chakra production and consumption levels rose."

Pain nodded, finally managing to sort out all of this information, which still wasn't enough to suffice him. "Tell me more about those seals, Sensei…what are they?" He asked curiously, wanting to know every bit of detail. Jiraiya noticed that the Rinnegan wielder glancing at Konan every few seconds.

"I'm getting to that, Nagato. So far, with all the advantages they have when released, those seals have two disadvantages- one is that while they're not activated, you cannot battle correctly, and the other is that when they're released you cannot control your body's chakra consumption speed or reject it, which means that your chakra will run out at some point and will leave you powerless. The way to preserve the chakra is to deactivate the seals, which immediately stops and disrupts the consumption process." Jiraiya explained, causing Pain's eyes to widen slightly in shock and confusion. He had a hard time keeping up with Jiraiya's explanation, even though he understood his words. "When it does, the seals will deactivate themselves in order to prevent you from injuring your body in the attempts to try and put in more chakra. But while they are activated, you are pretty much the strongest person in the battlefield."

Jiraiya then looked at Konan and frowned, seeing that he has a lot more to explain. "Your seal and Konan's seal are very different as well, Nagato. I know that Tsunade probably informed you Konan's seal was applied to her in order for her to recover correctly." He continued, sending shivers down Pain at the usage of his real name. "Both of your and Konan's seals are attached to your nerve systems, meaning that they will only activate once you truly desire so. However, they have a defense mechanism which is used as a countermeasure in order to make sure that their powers are used for pure causes- the seals are basically biological "lie detectors", so if your intentions are not pure once you're trying to activate them, not only the seals won't activate, but they will lock themselves in, taking away your strength and making you vulnerable. That is the only common trait that you have with Konan's seal."

"I don't think that I can gain back my strength "whenever I desire to!"" Pain noted angrily, clearly referring to everything that happened in this clearing. The Rinnegan wielder's eyes then widened at his words, noting how rude and ungrateful his tone was. He lowered his head, seeing Jiraiya's expression saddening, guilt rising up from within him. "Sensei...I'm sorry."

Jiraiya shook his head, not willing to receive Pain's apology. "No, you have the right the be mad at me. But you need to know that I had no choice, Nagato...it was either that or your Chakra Pathway System would've been sealed off completely." He countered, looking at Pain with an apologetic expression. The Rinnegan wielder realized that his Sensei was correct. "Once I release your own seal, you'll be able to battle and protect Konan once again. But for now, please let me finish healing Konan."

Pain nodded, his figure calm and relieved. "Sensei, how can we "activate" our seals?" He asked, wanting Jiraiya to continue his explanation as fast as he could.

Jiraiya smiled slightly, touched by his disciple's devotion to take him off such depressing matters. "Well, in order to activate your seals you need to think about a specific thought that they will react to," He answered calmly, approving Pain's estimations. Pain's expression softened into a more emotionless one, the confusion slowly disappearing. "That is one of the differences between your seal and Konan's- your seals react to different desires, to different thoughts. I made your seal special to you in a few ways. Your ninja way, nindo, was to protect both of Konan and Yahiko no matter the cost. _That_ is what your seal will react to- the desire to protect Konan and Yahiko…but since Yahiko…has passed on…the seal will give you its power only when you desire to protect _Konan_. Tsunade-hime first contemplated on blocking your Chakra Pathway systems entirely in order to prevent you from attempting to use your powers attempt to destroy Konoha after I'll release your seal. But I know you're better than that, and I was correct. That was why I instead formed those seals on you, because I knew that this seal will help you keep yourself at the right path- when you want to protect Konan, to realize your nindo, your promise- the seal will lend you its strength to do so. As long as you stay true to your resolve, the seal will always answer to your call, and so will your strength."

Pain gave a hesitating, rejecting expression, quite unsure of Jiraiya's words. "I do not think that I require another guide, Jiraiya-sensei…" He claimed, causing Jiraiya to smile when Pain returned to look fully at Konan, motioning what he was going to do next. "My Angel is my guider, the one who shows me to the right path. However, as unnecessary this seal may be, if it will give me the power I desire to protect her even more than before…then I welcome it."

Jiraiya's expression now beamed in happiness, and not only for the reason that his student was receiving his gift with open arms. "Yes, you truly _are _Nagato!" He cheered, knowing that only Nagato had always treated this way to Konan and Yahiko, only empowering his resolve. "So, let us get to the point- your and Konan's seals are called "The Seals of Heaven", or to put it more simply- "The Heavenly Seals". Those seals are basically a secret, and only I…and unfortunately, Orochimaru, know about their existence. They can easily be considered as the pure counterparts to Orochimaru's "Cursed Seal of Heaven". Well…the stronger counterparts and the forefathers of that seal."

Pain's eyes widened in surprised, his ears shocked at what they heard. He had very much known of Orochimaru's "Cursed Seal of Heaven", but never really bothered to check its whereabouts. Heck, now that he thought of it- Orochimaru never mentioned where his amazing sealing technique came from. "Then…you mean that the Cursed Seal of Heaven was actually originated from the Seals of Heaven?" He asked, only to facepalm mentally at Jiraiya's expression.

Yes, the names turned it in without a need of an answer from the Toad Sage.

"Now, let me continued," Jiraiya pointed out, cutting Pain's line of thoughts and returning the Rinnegan wielder's attention to him. "One of the differences of your seals, as I have already mentioned, is the desires to which they react. To put it basically, you will be only able to activate your seal if you want to _protect _Konan, and that is where your seal's name is originated from- "The Protection Seal of Heaven"…or to put it more simply- "The Heavenly Protection Seal"."

Pain nodded, sorting out the information in his head deeply, knowing that such information is very crucial. "Then that must mean that my Angel's seal is activated by her desire to keep those who are close to her alive…or else her seal wouldn't have been named by you The Life Seal of Heaven." He pointed out, only to raise a suspicious expression when Jiraiya shook his head.

"Even though you were very correct by spotting Konan's seal, she can only activate that seal when wanting to protect _you_." He mentioned, shocking Pain slightly. "The same goes for you- you will only be able to use your seal in order to protect _Konan_ or perform an action which will end up protecting her."

"I see…" Pain said hesitatingly, correcting his thoughts. "Please, tell me about that Heavenly Life Seal."

Jiraiya nodded, knowing that now he was slowly bringing the Rinnegan wielder to the awareness of what was happening since he had been incapacitated and brought to Konoha from Amegakure. "I have always seen the strong desire Konan had to keep the both of you safe, even though she did not have the power to it at the time. As you have told me countless of times when you were a child, Nagato- Konan had always took care of you and Yahiko when I was out buying necessary supplies." Jiraiya mentioned nostalgically, smiling as he looked up at the skies. "When I have first seen how she had been wounded by that bastard in Amegakure…I knew that she will not be able to battle anymore. That was the moment in which I had decided to give her the "Heavenly Life Seal", whose main purpose and role is healing…but there may have been a better way, since once that seal is applied, the change is permanent."

Jiraiya then looked at Pain with a sad frown. "Those seals will never leave your side, no matter how much you desire so. It is important for you to learn as much as you can about them, because they will stay with you throughout your entire lives." He claimed, rocking Pain's heart slightly at the realization. He didn't know if he was ready for such drastic news. "The roles for which the Heavenly Life Seal is used differ from yours greatly, and bears greater risk if used by Konan on her own with no chakra backup. Since her chakra pathway system was severely damage, the seal had to adjust himself to that damage, making it twice as weak. That makes every drop of chakra so valuable that it shouldn't be used for bloodshed, but instead on keeping her safe and alive."

Pain raised his eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean by "keeping her safe and alive", Sensei?" He asked suspiciously.

Jiraiya nodded, realizing his student's uttermost curiosity and suspicion. "First of all, the Heavenly Life Seal can be activated by an outer source with certain, special technique that only I know, and it was that technique which I am using right now in order to heal her up, but I will tell you about it in a second. Second, the seal can be also activated by Konan herself in order to heal her own or her comrades, but both of those bear a risk- since the seal takes double the amount of chakra if used by Konan. That means that she may hurt her own chakra pathway system if wanting to heal herself or her comrades. In order to avoid that risk, it is better for her to absorb chakra from an outer source in order to supply her body with the chakra it needs to either heal herself or her comrades. That is, Nagato, what I am doing right now."

"Then you're streaming your chakra into Konan's body and triggering an unconsciousness healing process by having her body absorbing your and flowing it to her wound for the purpose of closing and healing it…am I correct?" Pain asked simply, not showing any kind of shock or confusion. Jiraiya nodded, smiling at his student's cleverness.

"Once Konan's seal is activated, the chakra which had been molded inside Konan's cores up until now will burst out, and due to her chakra pathway system's unique structure, her chakra erupts straight into her bloodstream. That chakra is being consumed by the blood cells and organs throughout her body, causing them to heal themselves and repair due to its unique traits. As long as the wounds aren't mortal, or if the body was injured while it was bearing the Heavenly Life Seal, it will have no difficulty continuing the entire process of the healing. In Konan's case, the seal wasn't a part of her body once she was mortally injured…and for that I apologize…the seal itself won't be able to heal her wound completely, but only to restore it to the point in which it was closed."

Pain nodded, a sad expression spreading on his face. Suddenly, his eyes widened in great shock and surprise, seeing that Konan's hand had begun to interact with his own palm. "Sensei…" Pain muttered in disbelief as his palm enclosed on his Angel's delicate hand tightly, causing it to stop its probing. It was strange- Konan wasn't showing any signs of being conscious. "My Angel-"

"I will tell you about it later, Nagato, let me just finish my explanation." Jiraiya prompted, knowing that there is too much information which needed to be sorted out. Pain nodded and proceeded to holding Konan's hand with both of his, letting her know that he's here. "Once the seal is activated, the chakra will also consume itself into her heart, speeding up her heartbeats and pulse, forcing the process of blood production and oxygen consumption to be continued in order to keep herself alive if she's…Kami, don't jinx us- dying. That is not the only thing that the seal can do- it also produces biological anesthesia by pouring its chakra into her nerves and remaining there, dulling the pain if a swift move is required from the body but is unable because of various of physical reasons like wounds, limb aches, and so on. But that doesn't mean that the damage isn't being dealt, since anesthesia nullifies the body's nerves, and doesn't make the damage disappear."

"Then…does that mean that the only purpose of the Heavenly Life Seal is Konan's health?" Pain asked, wanting to know if there are any more amazing, unbelievable benefits for that seal. Of course, the fact that Konan now has a "guardian angel" was enough for him, yet he had to know every little detail.

He never really bothered to realize Sakura and Naruto on the other side of the clearing, as if their existence was forgotten by him. Nevertheless, Jiraiya didn't let such a thing flee his mind, and instead hardened his expression, knowing that he must finish this conversation quickly so they can confront the Konohagakure Shinobi about the current situation.

"Well, the seal's _major _purpose is to take care of Konan's body in case of injuries…but, just like your seal, it can also be activated to enhance physical abilities if self-defense is required." Jiraiya claimed, surprising the Rinnegan wielder. "But that is only in cases of emergencies. For example- if you're not around to protect her. That reason is mainly because the downside to this usage is enormous- the Heavenly Life Seal's chakra was modified and suited mainly for healing her body, and thus it is not like your chakra. Both of your Heavenly Seals produce special chakra which I call- "Heavenly Chakra" or…you know- "Chakra of Heaven". The difference between "Heavenly Protection Chakra" and "Heavenly Life Chakra" is that their purposes are different. The Heavenly Life Chakra is not suitable for enhancing physical abilities like your chakra, not to mention that her chakra pathway system isn't connected straightly into her nerve system. In order for her to perform such a thing successfully, she will have to sustain an enormous toll since her heavenly chakra must go all the way up to her main nerve system, which may cause an overdrive. Not only that, her chakra will be decreasing in an enormous speed because it wasn't designed for that purpose. It will exhaust down her body so quickly, that from that great chakra loss in such a short while will cause her to experience major, constant chakra exhaustions…and eventually she will lose consciousness."

A worried, sad expression tore Pain's face as his head tightened themselves around her own, sorting out his teacher's dangerous sayings. "How long can that entire process take?" He asked, wanting to be ready for anything if something which requires Konan to protect herself is to happen.

"Two minutes…" Jiraiya replied simply, perking up the Rinnegan wielder in shock, widening his eyes and causing his jaw to drop. "That is why your Heavenly Protection Seal is more crucial out of the two. That is why, forgive for saying that even knowing that it will be what you will do, you must protect her no matter the cost, to prevent such a situation from happening. Konan isn't built for battles, Nagato…she's not that type of woman…and I know that you know that as well. I will not scold you, I will not tell you what to do. I know that you know what you must do as well."

Pain nodded, looking at his Angel with Rinnegan eyes filled with sympathy and affection, seeing that she was now breathing deeply, almost dozing. "Excellent, the bleeding effect had stopped." Jiraiya pointed out, making Pain even more relieved. "It will not take long…I estimate around ten to twenty minutes until her wound returns to the way it was."

Pain looked at Konan's expression for a few constant minutes, listening to her breathings, looking how her abdomen exhaled and inhaled the oxygen, seeing how she flinched every once in a while, before finally speaking.

"Sensei…how did it all happen? When did you form those seals on us? When did you have the time?"

Jiraiya frowned and lowered his head at Pain's question, having a hard time dwelling on such moments. "I had first formed the Heavenly Life Seal on Konan while in the operation." He muttered sadly, recalling the dark, panicked moments. "We were struggling to keep Konan on the edge of life…the entire medical crew was there and we had every single available surgical procedures…yet both of Tsunade and the doctors haven't had any experience with such a mortal wound. Konan was nearing death, and I knew that this was what I needed to do…"

Jiraiya closed his eyes and sighed, embracing the thoughts about the operation which had now came to be known across all Konohagakure.

* * *

_The machine measuring Konan's pulse was beeping crazily at the huge operation room, the sound of frantic calls and yells filling the empty space as the medical division was panicking completely. "SHIT!" Tsunade swore frantically, looking at the unconscious, dying Konan, who was now chocking on her own air. She instantly put both of her palms on Konan's abdomen, her hands surrounding themselves with dim, bright green glow as she was praying to somehow stabilize back Konan into a condition which will allow them to continue the operation._

_Jiraiya was right next to Konan, his eyes completely widened and his breath frantic, holding the Angel's left hand tightly. Konan was resting in a surgical bed with her chest covered up in surgical sheets, which were exposing the wound in her abdomen. Konan's Akatsuki cloak and her top were both removed through the operation in order to make it convenient for the medical team to get to her wound. Of course, the surgical sheets were covering up her breasts, still letting her reserve some privacy in her dying state. _

_The entire medical division had been fighting for Konan's life for over two hours, using every method they knew to somehow stabilize the Angel's condition. There was not a single doctor who could remain stoic and calm while looking at the wound and comprehending that somehow Konan was still alive. The nurses brought every surgical tool needed for the operation and set them all on organized surgical tables, which were surrounding the room._

_The doctors were running all over, preparing various devices and methods which would likely let them gain their upper hand against Kami, who was now desperately trying to hold onto the dear Angel, wanting her with him._

"_WHERE IS THAT BLOOD TRANSFUSION!?" Tsunade raged, desperately trying to somehow stop Konan's bleeding, an enraged snarl on her face. There was still so much to be prepared, but how can they make it!?_

_The medical division, as experienced as it was, has never faced such a thing. Even she barely knew how she should act and respond to the vicious chain-reactions Konan's wound caused to her body._

_Even Neji, who had the most terrible wound up until now, which was a gigantic arrow embed right into his left chest, exactly a microscopic inch next to his heart, was nothing compared Konan's condition. The operation to treat Neji took only ten hours, yet this operation was likely to take thirteen hours at best. Most of the problems with Konan that made this operation almost impossible were a few cases- a severely damaged Chakra Pathway system core, which resided in her abdomen, torn and damaged abdominal organs, which were damaged together with the pathway system's core when Zetsu injured her, and of course- uncontrollable bleeding, a horrible mental trauma, and severely damaged abdominal muscles. _

_The Hokage needed a safe condition in order to begin opening up Konan's abdomen to look at the damage inside, and right now, she could swear that she never have needed her luck so much in her entire life. _

_Not even when Dan, her lover, was dying right infront of her._

"_W-What's the patient's blood type!?" One of the doctors exclaimed at the other side of the room, frantically searching the blood library for appropriate blood bags._

"_I TOLD YOU THAT IT'S O POSITIVE!" Jiraiya raged, panicking horribly, snarling at the shocked, frantic doctor, who jumped in alarm at his outburst. They just kept asking questions, and every single second they were wasting was a second in which Kami was pulling her upwards._

"_Quick, we need O positive!" The doctor yelled to another doctor, who was writing down medical reports constantly. Tsunade cursed her luck thousands of times already- they just _had _to fall in for a patient with such an exotic, rare, and valuable blood type._

"_We don't have any O positive bags left here! It's too rare!" The other doctor raged frighteningly, taking a quick glance at the blood library. _

"_We may have some preserved at the center blood lab downstairs!" Tsunade screamed at the two, not bothering to look away from the horrible wound. "Go down there and take all we have this instant!"_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama!" Both doctors answered promptly as they left everything they were doing at that moment and charged out of the operation room. The sounds of their footsteps could be heard all over the hospital as they closed the two doors of the room behind them._

_Suddenly, one of the doctors left his position and came running towards the surgical bed, carrying a plastic mask that was attached into an oxygen concentrator by a large, thick hose. "Hokage-sama!" He yelled, stationing the device right next to Konan as he began making the final preparations. "We're ready to begin the oxygen therapy!"_

"_Do it now!" Tsunade replied loudly, terrified with every passing second, seeing that Konan condition isn't improving the slightest._

_Without hesitating, the doctor nodded and lifted Konan's head, professionally equipping the mask on her face. The mask covered her mouth and her nose, since they were the only places in the human body which were able to inhale oxygen._

_The thick, plastic hose that was connecting the mask to the oxygen concentrator began widening and narrowing, mentioning that the oxygen was flowing through it into the mask. The supply of air was constantly being inhaled by Konan's body, stabilizing her condition ever so slightly, yet not enough to actually continue the operation._

_As the doctor ran back and took his position next to his comrades, Tsunade resumed trying to treat the almost-dead Angel._

_Ten minutes passed with a blink of an eye in the operation room, and Kami was once again gaining the upper hand, showing that he wasn't going to give up Konan so easily._

_By that time, many more devices were joined together around Konan's body- anesthesia injection machine together with bloodstream enhancing device and even an artificial heart, the only artificial heart in the entire hospital. To think that all of this medical technology together will not be able to overcome three little holes in a woman's abdomen!_

"_WHERE ARE THOSE DAMN BLOOD BAGS!?" Jiraiya suddenly screamed in rage, realizing that the doctors who ran out of the room have yet to return. They needed every little help they can get, and those two were probably now performing one of the most important tasks in this operation._

_As if Kami was amusing with them, wanting to see how far they will go, the operation room's doors forcefully opened to both sides at that moment, making way for the two doctors, who left barely half an hour ago._

_Each of them was carrying two "O positive" blood bags in each arm, and were looking like they just ran straight to Sunagakure and back. "We have only four "O positive" blood bags!" One of them panted out as he hanged one of the blood bags on a support pole and connected it into a cannula by using a narrow, plastic hose._

_Seeing that it was firmly adjusted, the doctor inserted the cannula straight into Konan's limb, making sure it was deeply inside the vein which was leading back to her heart and not the rest of her body. He then signaled his friend, who was now standing far away from him, at the surgical tables which were next to a machine, which was bearing two, firm pumps coming out of it. _

_Upon seeing the signal, the doctor pressed a red button on the machine's control board, looking over his shoulder at his friend, whose expression was beaming with relief when the blood began flowing into the cannula and from the cannula into Konan's body._

_A few minutes passed, in which the entire medical division resumed the panicking treatment in order to save Konan's life. It was, after all their efforts, in vain. _

_Tsunade's jaw dropped in disbelief, her eyes completely widening when she looked at the pulse measuring machine, seeing the holographic sketch of Konan's pulse on it going near-flat. "DAMN IT!" She raged, catching the attention of everyone in the operation room. "HER PULSE IS GOING DOWN! WE'RE LOSING HER!"_

_Tsunade began to desperately pour as much chakra as she could into her healing technique, breathing quickly, sharply, almost gasping with each breath. The bright green glow almost swallowed her palms, forming tears in the corner of her eyes when she saw that it was no longer effective._

_The beeps of the measuring machine was growing weaker and weaker, forcing the dead silence into the room._

_The Hokage's frantic expression slowly died down, her eyes narrowing and her head lowering itself slightly, realizing that, as much as she denied and refused to accept it, there was nothing else left to do for the poor, dying Angel._

"_It's over…"_

"_No...I won't let that happen."_

_Tsunade perked up when Jiraiya shot up, his sayings echoing through the operation room just like his hardened, serious expression. He had finally reached his realization, his resolve. _

_He knew what needed to be done._

"_Do as I say, Tsunade…" He muttered emotionlessly as he closed his eyes and took a firm position. He prepared himself and began forming hand seals in blinding speed, confusing even the Hokage. "Stop the healing process and turn off every single surgical device in this room…"_

_Tsunade's jaw dropped in disbelief, which slowly turned into anger. "WHAT?!" She raged, getting her resolve slipping when she saw that the Toad Sage didn't bother to reply to her rage. Her expression turned angered, glancing at the medical division, seeing every single doctor and nurse looking at her with a confused, yet begging expression. "If she dies…It's on _your _head, Jiraiya!"_

_Jiraiya just continued forming his hand seals, his eyes still closed, as if he was unaware to what was going around him._

_With great hesitation overflowing her heart, making t beat erratically into her chest, Tsunade began with ripping the oxygen mask from Konan's face, causing the Angel to begin chocking herself for air once again. She then removed the cannulas connected to her wrists, causing the blood flowing into them just spray out like a miniature waterfall, and finished by pulling out the hose which was connected to the artificial heart out of Konan's chest._

_The pulse beat had stopped, and Konan stopped breathing, but just when everyone was losing their sanity from the stress, Jiraiya's eyes shot open. 'The great toad elder had predicted that there would be a time in which I will need to make a fatal decision…' He thought as he began biting the fingers on each of his hands, drawing out his blood, shocking and confusing Tsunade and the rest of the medical division. 'I have chosen to raise Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko like my own children…then I have left them as if they were trash to be abandoned at the streets. Yahiko's death was because of me, Konan's wound was because of _me_! However, Kami gave me a second chance, another chance to prove myself worthy of my apprentices. I must act now not as a Sensei…but as a father! Nagato actually believed in me and put Konan's life in my hands…I mustn't disappoint him…I _CANNOT _DISAPPOINT HIM!'_

_He clapped both of his hands together, shocking Tsunade when his fingertips began glowing with a bright green glow. That glow didn't match the pattern of chakra, as it wasn't transparent and had white dots of energy spread across it. He then swiftly grabbed Konan's right wrist and sketched a circle on her right palm with his fingers, using his blood as ink. He then swiftly leaped across the bed to Konan's left side and drew the same circle on her left palm. _

_Without a head-notice, Jiraiya deflected Tsunade's palms from Konan's abdomen, causing her to close her eyes and yelp in pain, feeling as if her hands were steaming. She could feel electrifying chakra was climbing up her wrists, digesting them, causing her to take another step back, flinching and wincing from pain._

_With nothing to hide the blood pool which was now tainting the surgical sheets, Jiraiya swiftly wiped away the red liquid from Konan's abdomen, exposing her bleeding wound. Konan was still bleeding due to the fact that she went through a blood transfusion, and still had some blood in her body. _

_Not disgusted by this sight the slightest, the Toad Sage then proceeded to draw a perfectly round, large circle in the middle of the dying Angel's abdomen with his blood, which surrounded the middle hole of her wound and skipped over the left and right parts of it. _

_Not hesitating the slightest, but still thinking he will suffer from it afterwards, Jiraiya grabbed the surgical sheets which were covering Konan and pulled them downwards, exposing her naked upper body to every single eye in the operation room. A few seconds of mental preparations and many hours of pure panic were not enough to protect the Toad Sage, as he couldn't hold on upon seeing the sight of Konan's exposed body. _

_He was a man after all, a very vulnerable one with that, and upon seeing a woman's body, let alone the most beautiful woman body he had ever seen, even he is to fall into his primal urges._

_However, he resisted, costing him in a large amount of blood which began gushing down his nose as if a blood hose was left open in his brain, shocking Tsunade completely. That was not a normal nose bleed, where blood is just spraying out of one's nose- it was a serious one, Jiraiya was actually losing large amounts of blood through his nose. _

_Putting his left palm on his nose, desperately trying to stop the bleeding, Jiraiya squinted his eyes and flushed crazily as he walked to Konan's right side and proceeded to draw a circle in the Angel's left breast._

_At that, even more blood roared down the Toad Sage's nose, denying the thought that he was now actually touching Konan's _breasts_, a forbidden fruit that only Nagato was allowed to pick._ _Even when constrained by an immense headache which rocked down his body as he bled, Jiraiya found the strength to lift up the surgical sheets and cover back Konan's chest. _

_His body horribly relieved itself from stress, his nosebleed slowly ceasing. For a few second his expression remained dazzled and shocked, but soon enough, as the Toad Sage regained his senses, his expression went cold and serious once again. 'This isn't the time to be aroused!' He scolded and raged at his body as he closed his eyes, proceeding to continue and form another series of countless hand seals, the blood on his hands now literally steaming. The Toad Sage soon brushed each of his fingers through the blood tainting Konan's abdomen and once again resumed performing his hand seals. 'I must hurry, or else Konan is dead!'_

_Jiraiya's eyes shot open with his resolve before thrusting his right palm upwards, his expression beaming with determination. "Here we go…" He muttered as he closed his eyes and winced, trying to put in as much effort as he could into his palm. The entire medical division, and Tsunade nonetheless, looked in awe and shock as bright green and white sparkles began appearing out of thin air, surrounding Jiraiya's palm. They soon joined in together, forming a pearl-sized, bright green and white orb in the center of the Toad Sage's hand. _

_The rest of the people in the room never knew what hit them as the orb sent vicious, gigantic gusts of energy, doing so as it expanded. Tsunade and the rest of the medical division instantly shielded themselves from the gusts as much as they could, either crossing their forelimbs infront of their faces or turning around. It didn't help though, their expressions terrorized as they all felt as if their bodies are being digested by the winds, bringing of nearly invisible steams._

_With the gusts of chakra fluttering his red cloak, as if it was dancing to the orb's beautiful, screeching melody, Jiraiya's eyes were filled with determination and eagerness. He lowered his head to look at Konan's unconscious, dying expression, saddened. 'Konan…I'm sorry for everything that happened to you…' He thought sadly, not hesitating for a moment as he viciously smashed the orb into the center of Konan's chest. _

_He closed his eyes, snarling and wincing as he struggled against Konan's being. Seconds passed, and the orb began passing through Konan's chest, like her body was absorbing its essence into it. Jiraiya fully inserted the orb into Konan's chest, and the Angel then began heavily coughing out the little amount of blood she had left in her body as Jiraiya's hand clutched the center of her torso._

"_Heavenly Sealing Technique: The Life Seal of Heaven!"_

_Jiraiya's words brought forth a gigantic, brilliant white-green light. It eradicated through the room, blinding anyone in its path, sending even more powerful gusts of chakra._

_As the light and the winds slowly died down, Tsunade and the rest of the medical crew opened their eyes and returned to look at the sight before them, seeing Jiraiya clutching down the center of a now-stabilized Angel's chest. _

_The Hokage's eyes widened in disbelief, witnessing the circles which were visible around Konan's body shimmering in a bright green-white color, the same color of that strange orb Jiraiya held. Soon enough, the circles in her palms began extending many lines in the same color, and those lines then climbed up her forelimbs, bending and crossing each other up her arms and shoulders._

_As if the lines were guided and alive, they crawled beneath the surgical sheets covering Konan's body. The big circle in the Angel's abdomen was glowing as well, and soon enough it extended many of the same lines, which were then united with the other lines traveling her body to form a strange pattern resembling the Chakra Pathway system._

_Jiraiya's eyes squinted slightly, seeing that Tsunade and the rest of the medical crew were just standing there, frozen in their tracks , shocked at his technique. As much as Ninjutsu was a daily routine in the life of every Shinobi, Jiraiya's technique managed to shock them to the bone. They have never seen such a sight, and were now doing nothing but marveling. "Tsunade-hime…continue…the…operation…" He managed to pant, glancing at the Hokage slightly before flinching. He now wasn't willingly streaming his chakra into her body- Konan's body was eating up his chakra in the desire to live. "It…won't…last long…quickly….save her!"_

_The Hokage shook her head violently, cutting off her own thoughts as she snarled at the doctors and nurses who were still frozen in their tracks. She never knew how the hell she got herself into such a situation that in the middle of an operation she's standing and doing nothing. "You heard him!" She raged angrily at the crew, perking up and startling each one of them. "Continue preparing the surgical equipment as quickly as possible! I want that oxygen concentrator and Infusion Pump re-attached to the patient this instant!"_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama!" The entire group replied altogether before each doctor and nurse resumed their respective roles in making this crucial operation successful. _

_Meanwhile, Tsunade again assumed her place next to Konan's abdomen, looking at her wound with an expression filled with sympathy. She hoped to her very being that the condition inside her was better than the outside, because if not, then they are going to have one hell of an operation ahead of them. _

_She glanced at Jiraiya, seeing that he was looking as if he was in serious pain. Something doesn't add up- what is that technique!? What did it do to Konan?! _

_Tsunade's eyes widened even more when Konan's breathing began stabilizing itself, her skin returning to its usual color as if she was already being stabilized with nothing but Jiraiya's technique. Somehow, that technique Jiraiya just performed managed to do something that the most advanced medical equipment…heck, the most advanced Ninjutsu, have never been able to do before- bringing someone back from the hands of Kami. _

_Using the fact that her Sensei's eyes are closed to her advantage, Tsunade brought her hand close to Konan's abdomen as it was surrounded with blue chakra that soon took the form and shape of a scalpel._

_Knowing that she must do it quickly, and that a man like Jiraiya will be traumatized for life if he is to such a thing being done to his own student, Tsunade began to slowly slide her hand into Konan's abdomen, the chakra cutting and piercing Konan's abdominal skin and muscles smoothly and easily. Making sure that the scalpel is exactly in the right depth, Tsunade proceeded with holding her other hand above Konan's entire abdomen as it was surrounded with faint, green glow._

_Suddenly, Tsunade felt her hand being boiled and steamed up, leading her to wince and remove it from above Konan's waist instantly. She held it with her other hand, dissolving the chakra which was surrounding it. Both of her hands began raising off steams, the pain climbing up her arms, causing her to snarl. "Don't…use…any…healing Ninjutsu…method…it won't…work…" Jiraiya breathed out, already beginning to inhale and exhale deeply. _

_Tsunade nodded, following Jiraiya's commands as she begun to cautiously cutting through Konan's abdomen in a straight, horizontal line, making sure her hand passed through every hole in her wound, penetrating her flesh with ease, cautious and gentle. _

_After she reached from the right side of Konan's waist to her left side, the Hokage then carefully slid her hands into the cut she had made, closing her eyes for the slightest second, almost praying before she opened up Konan's wound._

_That single step exposed Konan's insides to the operation room, however, the Angel was still alive and breathing, as much as the word "alive" could be used in her current condition. Tsunade knew that her insides weren't going to be pretty, but she never prepared herself for something like _this_._

_The Hokage's eyes widened in horror as she caught the sight of the Angel's inner abdomen- her stomach and liver were completely pierced, the stomach itself bearing two holes while the liver had only one. However, that was only the tip of the glacier. There were also gastric acids gushing out of the holes in Konan's stomach, digesting the rest of her organs. The acid clung to her rib cage and her spine, soaking itself into her bones, steaming them up. _

_That was when the Hokage realized that the Angel's survival was inhuman. She should've been dead the second she was injured like this._

"BY KAMI!_" The Hokage raged in panic, frantically turning her expression to the startled doctors, who were now preparing the surgical tools needed for the first phase of the operation. "THE INSIDES ARE BEING DIGESTED! HER ORGANS ARE SEVERELY DAMAGED AND WE GOT GASTRIC ACIDS TOO! I NEED SURGICAL STAPLES, A RETRACTOR, HEMOSTATS AND FORCEPS THIS INSTANT!"_

_At Tsunade's report, the doctors nearly dropped what they were holding in shock and surprise. They have never even comprehended on treating a patient with such a condition. Heck, they never thought someone could live with such a thing in his midsection. But nevertheless, their expression remained strong and determined, wanting to let the Hokage know that they will follow her through this entire operation…as inhuman and impossible as it was. _

_For the first time Tsunade's life Kami actually began backing down for some reason, letting her have some luck- the doctors of the medical division turned around to look at her after a few seconds, each of them carrying a necessary surgical tool for the operation._

_They all began running towards the surgical bed, standing around it in a circular formation as they arrived. Now there were many horrified eyes around Konan instead of just a pair as each doctor took his own glimpse at Konan's insides. _

_Tsunade raised her head, her eyes traveling to every single doctor who was surrounding the surgical bed. When her eyes met with theirs, each doctor looked back and nodded with over-the-top eagerness and respect. It surprised the Hokage deeply that the medical division will be willing to go this far for an Akatsuki member, let alone participate in such an inhuman operation. However, Tsunade could only realize that it was a natural instinct. Naruto had taught Konoha a very important lesson- never judge a person by his cover, his history, or his relations. Sometimes, stereotypes and prejudices will make society fall apart. It was Konohagakure's job to ascend above such things, and that was the first step to that said goal. _

"_Keep your caution up," Was all the Hokage allowed herself to say to the rest of the medical division which was surrounding the bed. The silence was all over the place, each Shinobi realizing that they reached the peak, the climax of the operation- they're now passing the point of no return. "It won't be pretty treating that patient. The slightest mistake could lead to the most fatal wound…keep your eyes opened and your brain focused. Is that clear?!"_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama!" The doctors replied promptly, not showing any sign of hesitation whatsoever, not moving the slightest bit, waiting for Tsunade's final orders. The suspense could be felt in the atmosphere, how they all breathed and focused, how the silence was forcing its way in._

_Seeing that they are all ready to begin, Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya, looking at him squinting his eyes and glancing at her with a weak, exhausted smirk. She knew that he was here to back her up, to give her that feeling of confidence that he always gave her. Now, he was the one who was saving Konan's life, not her, not the medical crew, and not the entire village._

_She then returned her look back to Konan's wound, frowning, her eyes gazing at her horrible, twisted insides. The damage was inhuman, literally _impossible _to heal…but they had faced even worse situations before._

_For two of the Legendary Sannin…_nothing _was impossible. _

"_Let's begin the operation…"_

"_Yes, Hokage-sama!"_

_And so passed the rest of the day in Konohagakure…or to be more precise- the next _eleven _hours since the operation finally began._

_During those eleven hours, the few patients who were currently hospitalized have already managed to spread the rumors about the operation to the rest of the village. As gigantic as Konohagakure was, the villagers knew each other and were as close as a family, meaning that such rumors about an operation to save one of them would spread as quickly as fire._

_Konohagakure's hospital was currently filled with countless of villagers, all coming to witness the operation taking place. They have been waiting there for two hours, knowing that this isn't a regular operation based on the rumors which traveled by. Some said that the patient was directly related to Tsunade, while others said she was simply a very important Shinobi in this village. _

_The hallway leading to Operation Room Number one was currently overflowing with villagers, thirty of them to be precise. They all expected the return of the medical division, which was taking place in this operation in such great numbers. There were ten doctors and ten nurses, a total of twenty medical-nins from the medical division, the highest amount of participants in Konohagakure's history. Not even Neji managed to bring in so many of the hospital's crew- mostly around fifteen, but even so, they were just switching places every three hours, not rushing in all at once. The operation to save his life took nine whole hours. However, it wasn't even close to that operation, which has been taking place for over eleven hours._

_There were members of the medical division patrolling or assisting patients outside of the operation room, mostly since they didn't make it to join the operation or were just taking a day off from their hard work. However, they all arrived like kunaies to a magnet as soon as they heard of the incident, and were now assisting the villagers and the patients as much as they could._

_The rest of the villages filled every single hallway leading to the one infront of Operation Room Number one, and even the lobby itself. They didn't have any choice but to wait farther away since there was no room or space to force in. A few members of the medical crew which wasn't participating in the operation tried to organize things up, to get the villagers comfortable somehow, but to no avail._

_At this point, when most of the villagers were already waiting outside the doors ate their hearts out for the last two hours, not being updated with any feedback on the patient's condition from the inside, many questions and theories began rising between them. They were mostly in the forms of whispers or yells. _

"_T-This is getting ridiculous…" A rather tall, black haired villager pointed in irritation, yet couldn't hide the sympathy and concern in his expression. He looked at a red-haired, mid-tall, cute woman who was standing next to him in the crowd. "They were stuck in that room all day! You think they'll be getting out anytime soon?"_

"_Honestly- I have no idea." The woman replied quietly, glancing at the man. "I heard that the medical crew never treated a wound such as the patient's. I think some of the nurses said that no one can survive from such an injury. I don't think they can make it."_

"_If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate Konoha's medical crew." A blonde woman who was standing near the red-haired woman countered, obviously barging into the conversation. "They've seen worse and treated worse. Now, with Hokage-sama in charge of this operation, I don't think they can fail."_

"_Hokage-sama's leading the medical crew?!" A brown haired, tall man exclaimed in shock, disbelieved. "Why did she take part in this dangerous operation!?"_

"_I think she wants to keep the operation organized and help the doctors." The blonde woman answered, turning to look at the brown haired man. "It doesn't matter. If Hokage-sama is in this operation, this can't be a normal one." _

"_Now that I think of it- do you know the patient?" Another villager asked in curiosity._

"_I don't know. But I think it's a woman…" The black haired man answered calmly, "Also she's a very important woman for Hokage-sama, but that's all I heard. Maybe you can ask someone else about that." _

"_Iruka-san, do you know anything about the patient? You _were_ the first one here after all."_

_Instantly, many eyes were turned to the ninja academy teacher, who was the one rumored to witness the beginning of this all-known operation. The teacher brought a nervous expression and gulped as he rubbed his brown hair sheepishly. "A-All I know that the patient is a woman named Konan…" He answered silently, his voice nervous yet calm. "She's a student of Jiraiya-sama too."_

_Many eyes were widened and many gasps could be heard at Iruka's words, making room for a new argument. _

"_No wonder Tsunade-sama joined this operation!"_

"_Jiraiya-sama has _more _than two students?! I thought his only students were Naruto and the Fourth Hokage!"_

"_But a _female _student?! With all that disrespect he shows to women around Konoha he has a _woman _as a student?!"_

"_Hey, I believe that Jiraiya-sama can treat women with just as much respect as a normal gentleman if he needs to! Just because you're a woman doesn't mean you need to look at him as a woman-abuser or a perverted rapist! Show some respect, his student is dying in there!"_

"_He's right, now it's not the time to start throwing around blames! Jiraiya-sama is one of the strongest Shinobi in Konohagakure, one of the legendary Sannin. If he has a female student, I'm sure he's not abusing and sexually-harassing her all day!"_

_Amidst the racket which had been created among the crowd, a small noise resembling a "beep" reached everyone's ears, instantly silencing down the hospital as if it was now deserted, allowing even the wind to be heard. Every single villager was now turned to the red light bulb, which had now been turned off._

_In the echo of the hallway, many cheers could be heard coming from the operation room, presumably the cheers of the medical crew. Then the sounds inside the operation room grew stronger, becoming ones of organizing, talking, and walking around._

"_I-It's over…the operation is finally over…"_

"_Do you think they saved her?"_

"_Why else would they cheer?" _

"_I don't know…this doesn't feel-"_

_Everyone's eyes widened in shock and disbelief as the operation room's doors began opening slowly, tensing up the atmosphere. _

_A few seconds later, Tsunade emerged out of the operation room, covered in sweat which was leaking all over her face. She was followed by the rest of the medical crew, who came out cheering to make place among the crowd just before a stretcher came out. Resting on it was an injured Angel, with the Toad Sage standing right next to her, tears leaking from his eyes with a happy, grateful smile on his face._

_Jiraiya could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks as heard his female student groan weakly in pain, tensing up slightly to make an example resembling an unconscious, pained snarl. With her eyes caught on this sight, Tsunade turned to the crowd and let a smile of triumph spread on her face. "The operation was _successful_!" She announced dramatically, taking a firm and determined stance, shocking the entire crowd with surprise as many claps and cheers began rising up from the silence. "The patient had been stabilized and is now no longer in danger!"_

_As the crowd began asking so many questions, which the Hokage happily turned her focus to, Jiraiya could feel the voices of the environment dying down, looking at Konan with a grateful, relieved smile. 'Nagato…thank you…' He thought, looking deeply at Konan's lip piercing. He knew one thing- there was no way in the world that Nagato will allow Konan to do such a disgraceful thing to her own body. Nevertheless, when he streamed his chakra into her body, Jiraiya could feel a distortion, as if her chakra was resisting his own. The thing is, after he formed the Heavenly Life Seal on her, Konan's chakra was completely depleted from her body, followed by her previous Chakra Pathway System to make room for a new one, which was filled with a new type of chakra- Heavenly Life Chakra. This could only mean one thing. 'Thank you for strengthening my resolve and giving me a new chance…another chance to repay you and start all over again. Now, if you please, I'm begging you…please let that "Angel" some time to rest.'_

_With that resolve, the Toad Sage softly reached to Konan's lower lip and swiftly removed her labret piercing. He then tossed it away carelessly, not caring the slightest where that awful thing went. He resumed looking at Tsunade and the crowd, his eyes flanking to Konan every few seconds until he returned his focus to her completely. _

_Yes, it would later be discovered that Konan was, and still is a member of the Akatsuki, a discovery which lead to a bitter conflict between the villagers regarding whether she should've been treated and saved at all. _

_The conflict deepened, and eventually those who supported the operation took their own side, while the others, who were unsupportive of that claim took theirs, leading into a social breakdown inside Konohagakure, a family being split apart._

_Nevertheless their differences, there was one thing every single villager knew- the operation which was taking place in Operation Room Number one was inhuman, and the fact that Konan was able to stay alive from the beginning to the end was a miracle by itself._

_They all agreed on one thing, a thing which every single villager didn't even resist- the decision to name Konan as "The Medical Miracle of Konoha"._

_Jiraiya knew, however, that the only thing which was keeping Konan alive was her sheer willpower to continue living with Nagato. Something happened beforehand, something that kept death away from her when she was injured, and that was Nagato's promise- his change of heart, his promise to dedicate himself to her, his resolve, and the last words she heard from him before losing consciousness._

_The medical crew eventually found traces of an anesthetic material inside Konan's body while performing evaluations on her condition. They were baffled and shocked to discover that this anesthetic matter was more effective than anything they have ever managed to create. However, when they attempted to extract its' traces from Konan's body in order to perform some researches, the needles and cannulas they were using literally _vaporized _when emerging out of her body, rendering them unable to retrieve some samples._

_That shocking incident, however, was nothing when compared to the results of the next evaluation. The doctors dropped their documents when they discovered Konan's body was already producing its own blood, and with such amazing speed. Soon enough, Konan's body didn't need a transfusion, and the last remaining "O positive" blood-bag was retrieved._

_Konan's body was also reacting to outer stimulations like physical touch, and the Angel was already thinking for her own. Tsunade couldn't believe that the Angel was already sleeping and conscious just after almost three hours since the end of the operation. _

_Something didn't add up, Tsunade knew that there was no way Konan's body went through two weeks of recovery in just a few hours. With that resolve, she turned to Jiraiya, who explained that Konan's inhumanly fast recovery was thanks to his gift. When she actually began hoping that Konan may be able to heal from the wound completely, her dreams were shattered by Jiraiya's explanation of the seal._

_Just like Tsunade passed Jiraiya's information to the medical crew of the hospital, so did the crew passed it to their families and friends when they bragged about their part in the operation to save Konan's life. _

_Pain and Konan, now known as Jiraiya's honorable students and "Pain and Konan of the Heavenly Seals", were now one of the main news around Konohagakure, causing endless of conversations and opinions among the villagers. _

_Half of the village now supported Pain and Konan as Jiraiya's students, not the leaders of Akatsuki, and eventually change their points of view upon the organization as the news sunk into their society. However, there were also those who resisted them, claiming that the leaders of Akatsuki should be brought to justice and pay for their horrible crimes._

_But there wasn't much they could do once Tsunade established a new rule all over the village for Pain's and Konan's safety, forcing them to follow and comply, yet not neglect their own opinions and thoughts._

_Letting out all of that unnecessary information- Konan was saved and stabilized, and the celebration of the medical crew was unlike any other that day. "The Medical Miracle of Konoha"…who would've ever thought that Konan will live? _

_She battled against all odds with sheer willpower and love for Nagato, going as far as defeating Kami himself. An Angel defeating her god…that was so unpredictable, so surprising, so relieving…_

_It was simply so-_

* * *

"Oi, Pervy-Sage!"

Jiraiya's ears perked up angrily as his beautiful trail of thoughts was cut off by the very insulting nickname which was pinned to him by his blonde apprentice, causing him to glance up at Naruto.

He was snarling at this point, his pupils red and slitted again, grinding his teeth. He clenched his fists tightly, recalling Jiraiya's actions when he appeared before them, tired of hearing him discussing with Pain about whatever they were talking about. "Why…Pervy-Sage…" He muttered under his lips, causing Sakura's expression to turn concerned. His voice was shaking with rage, finally able to digest the fact that his teacher, his mentor, is actually helping Akatsuki. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU HELPING THOSE AKATSUKI MEMBERS!? HOW…HOW THE HELL CAN YOU CHOOSE THOSE PATHETIC MURDERERS OVER YOUR OWN _FAMILY_!?"

Both of Pain's and Jiraiya's expression turned cold and merciless, and Pain was about to open his mouth to rage at the blonde for talking to his Sensei in such a disgraceful and dishonorable way when Jiraiya suddenly cut him off. His ears could still hear the echoes of the words "your own family". He looked at the bleeding, unconscious Konan who was resting on the grass, injured, hurt. He then glanced at Pain, who just recently recovered from yet-another trauma. His _true _family was devastated, and he knew who is to be blamed. "My own…family?" He asked coldly, his expression angered, to the point he was actually shaking to restrain himself. He couldn't allow himself to lose his composure at the insulting title Naruto gave hisfamily, knowing that in order to heal Konan effectively he needs to stay calm. "You know nothing, Naruto…don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong…"

A long silence passed through the clearing, Pain's expression softening when he contemplated on Jiraiya's words, knowing what his Sensei was meaning. Naruto actually took time to digest Jiraiya's sayings, feeling his stomach burning up with rage, his expression saddened and emotionless. "I see…" He muttered, his voice trembling at the words "doesn't belong". Those words reminded him of his childhood, the feelings of loneliness and abandonment rising up from within him. He got a cold shoulder from every single Shinobi in the village, but right after he met Jiraiya, his life literally _changed_. To think that eventually even his Sensei will turn the same cold shoulder towards him…

All of this…was because of those Akatsuki members.

"Pervy-Sage…" Naruto continued emotionlessly, his voice depressed as he slowly formed a hand seal, causing three shadow clones to appear behind him from a cloud of smoke. The clones took formation behind him, and Naruto only sent his right hand backwards. Two of the clones began repeatedly thrusting their palms against Naruto's hand, forming a perfect, rather big Rasengan. The third clone just held both of his palms above the Rasengan while the other clones were doing their job. "Get out of the way… behind him, who then took formation as he sent his right hand backwards slightly. Two clones began thrusting their palms rapidly at Naruto's hand, forming a perfect, rather big Rasengan. The third clone then held both of his palms above the Rasengan as the clones continued thrusting rapidly. "Get out of the way…Pervy-Sage…I'm going to finish off Pain…I don't have a choice…"

Jiraiya's eyes perked in surprise when both Sakura and Kakashi stepping away towards the outskirts of the clearing, afraid of what he was forming behind him. Whatever it was, it was certainly a powerful technique, as it sent powerful gusts and winds around the clearing, fluttering the leaves and the grass hairs.

'_T-This is…Rasenshuriken!' _Kakashi thought in disbelief, his eyes widening, catching the sight of Naruto's most powerful technique, a technique that even his father, the Fourth Hokage, wasn't able to perform. Judging by Sakura's expression, which was similar to Kakashi's, she was thinking the same thing.

Pain glared at Naruto deeply as the gusts got stronger, and then Madara's words suddenly echoed through his mind.

"_He had already gotten his hands on powerful ninjutsu that he used to take Kakuzu out. It's destructive…it's troublesome."_

He now knew that the sight infront of him was the ninjutsu Madara referred…and for such a technique to take out Kakuzu in a single blow, it can't be underestimated. His eyes suddenly perked, noting that Jiraiya used a certain technique to activate and release Konan's seal, telling him that their Heavenly Seals were both locked, preventing them from being activated.

He now knew what must be done.

"Sensei…you have taken away our strength, our ability to battle and defend ourselves…" He muttered, his voice deadpanning as he looked deeply at Jiraiya and began unbuttoning his Akatsuki cloak. Jiraiya could feel feelings of remorse rising up from his heart, and in an instant, his eyes widened, knowing what Pain was hinting at. "Jiraiya…activate it…release my seal just like you released Konan's. Let me protect my Angel…this is the least I can ask from you."

Jiraiya looked at his strongest disciple with a serious expression, seeing Pain's determination and resolve scattered across his expression, causing his own face to adopt the same features as well. The Toad Sage didn't even hesitate or thought it out before nodding as he removed his right palm from Konan's abdomen and held it in the direction of Pain's body.

"Alright, come closer."

* * *

Back in the woods of the clearing, the rest of the Eight Man Squad were having their own eyes fully widened, each one of them looking at Naruto's technique. Since they were stationed in the bushes behind him, they could clearly see his next, devastating move.

"W-What the hell is…that technique?" Kiba muttered in disbelief, literally _feeling _the power that Naruto's ninjutsu radiated. He could feel his body slightly aching yet growing numb at the same time.

Yamato's eyes narrowed, his expression turning into a frown as his suspicions were confirmed. "This is…the complete form of the Rasengan…" He explained rather seriously, shocking the rest of the Eight Man Squad. "This was a technique that even the Fourth Hokage, who created the Rasengan, was unable to achieve. It's called Rasenshuriken…and it's so devastating that it will soon be labeled by Tsunade-sama as a Kinjutsu."

"W-What?!" Hinata exclaimed in fear and concern, looking at Naruto with wary-filled eyes, amazed that Naruto actually managed to learn such a technique. "H-He's planning to strike Pain with this?!"

"Yes…" Yamato muttered before switching to a crouching position, perking Hinata and Kiba at his sudden movement. He looked back at them, his expression serious and concerned. "The Rasenshuriken will devastate this area…and our bodies as well. We should…get to a safe distance."

The rest of the Eight Man Squad didn't even hesitate to follow Yamato's advice as they all rushed in deeper into the woods.

* * *

Pain swiftly unbuttoned the last button of his Akatsuki cloak and opened it to the sides, looking at Jiraiya with an eager expression. Even though he was the almighty leader of the Akatsuki, his clothes were no different than the rest of the members'. The Rinnegan wielder wore a blue, short-sleeved, V-collar shirt with a mesh shirt underneath it. The only visible area of the mesh shirt was its collar, which was exposed by the blue shirt's V collar.

Pain was also wearing one of his traditional, favorite "accessories"- his dark-silver tomoe necklace, which had been rumored to be a direct replica of the one worn by the Sage of the Six Paths, the forefather of ninjutsu and the strongest Shinobi in existence. Unknown to most, it was brought to him as a gift by Yahiko and Konan once they formed Akatsuki.

After Yahiko's death, Nagato felt unworthy of the necklace, as it always reminded him how he was unable to protect his best friend, his "brother". As such, once the Deva path was constructed, Nagato passed the necklace down to him, as if returning it back to Yahiko.

The Rinnegan wielder also had had a large, white obi around his waist, going down to his hip-bones. His bottom wear were regular, traditional Akatsuki pants, attached to white leg warmers and blue-colored Shinobi sandals.

"Alright, it's ready." Jiraiya muttered seriously, seconds before his palm was surrounded with bright, red chakra. The chakra itself had many white dots bathing in it, just like the ones which were swimming in the green color of Konan's seal. Pain nodded without a shade of doubt as he lifted the lower part of his shirt, exposing his rather muscular abdomen and allowing Jiraiya to softly rest his fingertips against it. The Toad Sage then closed his eyes, concentrating deeply as he pressed his palm against the Rinnegan wielder's abdomen. "Bear with it, Nagato. It will hurt."

The heads up wasn't quick enough, and Pain's eyes squinted, feeling something boiling up in his very being, warming up his entire body to the point in which he felt he was melting. He winced, feeling deep, unexplainable pain and soothe climbing up his body, and in an instant, the feelings of Jiraiya's palm against his abdomen disappeared.

Pain was unable to feel any physical contact, so how was it possible that the connection between him and Nagato almost broke from the pain?! Could barely endure, feeling his insides steaming, unable to bear up with the pain.

His ears suddenly caught a horrible, bell-screeching noise, so high-pitched that it nearly tore his ears. He turned his widened eyes to look at Naruto, forgetting about the pain which was eating up his body as he saw the blonde thrusting his right arm upwards, showing his most powerful technique.

The Rasenshuriken- a highly concentrated Odama Rasengan orb which was surrounded with four, violently rotating wind blades. The blades were so powerful and pressured that it looked as if they were solid, their rotation speed only growing as the Rasenshuriken sent screeching vortexes of air and chakra all over the clearing. The trees bent to its might, the leaves being blown away by the inhuman force.

Pain's shocked expression turned hard and serious, and without a word, he deflected Jiraiya's palm from his abdomen, shocking the Toad Sage as he stood up swiftly. Before he could reach a firm standing Pain felt the entire clearing spinning around, causing him to clutch his forehead, desperately trying to regain his balance and endure the horrible throbbing in his head.

"N-No, Nagato!" Jiraiya shouted frantically, seeing that The Rinnegan wielder began struggling weakly towards Naruto, his head looking downwards and his body swaying with each step, barely able to stand up. The side effects were already tearing apart his body, Pain was overextending himself too far, and the worst part was that Jiraiya wasn't able to complete the technique properly. "I haven't completed the release yet!"

"Sensei…take Konan and…get back…" Were Pain's only words, and they were weak, devastated. He wasn't even focused on his surroundings anymore, barely able to keep up as the feelings of pain and numbness were getting stronger and stronger.

That was when Naruto decided to act, and upon readying himself up, the blonde charged towards the Rinnegan wielder, snarling, dragging his Rasenshuriken in his palm. The three clones behind him disappeared in a cloud of smoke, unable to endure the vicious impact that Naruto's technique had on the clearing.

They were just clones, after all.

"HERE I COME, PAIN!" Naruto roared, the Rasenshuriken rotating faster and faster as he neared Pain, who could really _see _his body steaming up at this point. He felt exhausted beyond imagination, as if his bodyweight was too heavy for him to be able to move correctly.

Jiraiya wanted to assist Pain in every single fabric of his being, yet he knew that he should follow his disciple's request. Besides, if he just as much as removes his hands from Konan's body then she's done for.

Knowing that this is bound to be a heavy clash, Jiraiya swiftly stood up and carried Konan in his arms, the same way Pain has been carrying her. He made sure that his palms were still in contact with her body so the healing process wasn't interrupted.

Looking at Pain with a concerned, serious expression, Jiraiya turned around and dashed into the forest, trying to get as much distance as he could in order to protect Konan. The clearing was already out of his sight as he headed deeper, hoping that Pain will be fine. It was just a reanimated corpse of Yahiko, it's not like Nagato himself was in there, so he didn't worry much.

Naruto was now just two feet away from Pain, the Rasenshuriken's wind causing the trees of the clearing to bend over and flutter both of their cloaks. Pain's eyes widened slightly, seeing that Naruto is about to thrust the Rasenshuriken forwards, and he was still unable to move.

He perked up in surprise when suddenly everything began slowing down, to the point time was standing by, letting the Rinnegan wielder close his eyes and lower his head. He felt something burning up inside him, igniting his insides- a powerful, unexplainable desire…

And as time again took pace, and Naruto thrust his Rasenshuriken at the leader of Akatsuki with a feral roar, Pain's mind was finally able to comprehend on that strange feeling, that soothing, numbing desire.

It was…the desire to protect his Angel.

And so, a gigantic, white dome of razor-sharp winds erupted from the clearing, sending a vicious earthquake all over Konohagakure's forest. It destroyed everything in its path as it expanded, covering up the entire clearing and sending away the forest's trees, penetrating into the woods as well.

* * *

And so ends one of the most irritating chapters of ANPAL, and with justification, I can say that I apologize for the overflow of information and words in this chapter…and also for the cliffhanger. However, it was essential to the plot of ANPAL, and I hope I answered some questions you had in mind since the beginning of Chapter 5. So, you better prepared yourself, because as this horrible cliffhanger mentioned- next chapter is where it all begins! So hang onto your seats, because **"Chapter 9- The Heavenly Protection Seal- Pain's power!" **will knock you off your feet with non-stop action, and will be another devastating battle to add to the story.

However, I will not spoil any further.

Now, I have to things to note before we're done for today, and that is mostly unnecessary information for you to read unless you want to get a more firm understanding of ANPAL's plot. I will be often answering Readers' questions after my chapters to fill up gaps of logic.

**MeleeSmasher **asked me about whether I liked Tobi's existence as Obito or not. I answered to him very simply- NO!

So, why, in my opinion, the masked man in ANPAL is Madara and not Obito?! Well, as most of you guessed, the Pain vs. Madara arc was written _before _Madara's true identity was known…heck, it wasn't even told that he's _not _Madara. I have found enough logic to support the fact that the masked man is actually the leader of the Uchiha, and besides, it was already said in ANPAL that he's Madara…and I'm not planning to change that (It's more epic this way).

So, in ANPAL, Madara actually survived the battle with Senju Harishama and managed to extract his DNA to empower himself, granting him a very powerful life-essence. And so, he remained hidden until he decided to engage Konohagakure and the Fourth Hokage, taking control over the Kyuubi once again. However, his battle against Senju incapacitated him, and so he didn't have enough power to maintain the control over the Kyuubi.

He fled, and in the end reappeared once again to help Itachi slaughter the Uchiha clan, claiming revenge over his family for abandoning and neglecting him. And afterwards, he became the mastermind behind the Akatsuki. However, his claims of giving Nagato the Rinnegan and encouraging Yahiko to form Akatsuki are a lie.

So, there you have it. I just don't find it logical that the masked man is actually OBITO. I mean, almost every single Naruto fan got crazed and said "Tobi is Obito! Tobi is Obito because he's a Uchiha, he has only one eye, and that eye happened to be the same eye that Obito _didn't _give Kakashi!" Well, newsflash- Tobi was shown to have _two _eyes when battling Konan, so that claim is incorrect. And also, it is impossible for Obito to live because he got smeared out by a…well…_very _heavy boulder, which soon brought on many other boulders the same size.

But to actually think Masashi will step as low as to actually make those fan claims the _reality _of the manga…fine, killing off Nagato and Konan was horrible…but _this_?!

Alright, we're switching subjects. **Kjaer21 **noticed that Sakura was actually being portrayed excessively.

Why am I making her personality so rough?

As you know, I am not very fond of Sakura, referring mostly to the way she treats Naruto and chases Sasuke. Since the planning of ANPAL I knew that if there's one Konohagakure Shinobi who has the justified potential to become an enemy of Pain (which is a big mistake) is her, due to Sakura's unforgiving personality.

So yes, as you just read, Sakura will eventually become an _enemy _of Pain and Konan. ANPAL's changes are affecting the Canon of the Anime (heck, it always had). That is all I can tell you guys, and will say no further.

Thank you for your continuous support, and I would like to encourage those of you who haven't voiced their opinions to scroll down slowly towards that _**REVIEW **_textbox and post their critism, as I appreciate every piece of advice I'm give.

On a further note, The Ninth chapter of ANPAL will be posted in _two _weeks rather than one, since I'm having a…class trip, if you would like to call it. So I ask of you to bear with me.

Anyways, I've wasted enough of your time, I will see you in two weeks.


	9. The Heavenly Protection Seal!

**Chapter 9- The Heavenly Protection Seal- Pain's power!**

***uninterested, emotionally-dead voice* Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto Shippuden…*interested, life-filled voice* but if I would've, the show wouldn't have been called "Naruto Shippuden", it would've been called "Nagato Shippuden". **

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"_Past Speech."_

"**Echoing Speech."**

Hello to you again my dear readers, I'm glad to finally be back to my daily routine after a rather long absence time. I'm sorry for not updating for a while as I was forced into a very busy schedule and literally had no time to write down Chapter 9. However, now I can finally repay you for all this shame by posting this chapter, and what a hell of a chapter it's bound to be.

Well...most of it. As you can see this chapter is short, and I have an explanation why- I was unable to complete the entire ninth chapter for a while, as it is a chapter that is over 20,000 words long, and going through all of it, while being under the busy schedule I have, will take almost a month. As a result, what you're getting now is actually a small part of the original Chapter 9 that was split into two chapters.

The next two chapters will show you what exactly you get when you combine an enraged Rinnegan wielder with a very, very, very, very, very, _very _powerful seal which is called "The Heavenly Protection Seal", and having him go fist-to-fist with someone who hurt Konan. We discovered about those seals in the previous chapter, and though some of you may like or may dislike that idea, I can safely say that it's my only personal add-on to this story. As we go through the plot, I will fill in more pieces of the puzzle.

But for now it's better if you stick to the information you were supplied with at chapter 8.

***WARNING* This chapter will contain character bashing, blood goring, goat feeding (wait what?!) and heart pumping moments, combined with hair shocking, nail cutting, slap giving horrors and suspense. Not suitable for kids or those with weak experience in the art of Ninjutsu.**

I would now announce and open this chapter by saying…

Itadakimasu.

* * *

The tremendous, spherical vortex tore through the forest, sending powerful gusts of winds fused with chakra that literally cut anything in its path. That was the result of Naruto's most powerful ninjutsu- the Rasenshuriken, which had now been tearing apart and knocking off trees as it slowly expanded, knocking everything in its path.

Aside from Pain and Naruto, who were now presumably in the middle of the wind sphere, everyone else who was within its radius backed down a very large distance, afraid that they may get caught in the aftershock. However, the area that the sphere covered was so wide that they were forced to back off even more.

Eventually, the sphere stopped expanding, yet still rotated in place, sending shockwaves through the forests, knocking trees asides and forcing the animals of the forest to flee for their lives.

It was gigantic, the sphere sent vicious earthquakes rocking through the forest and probably the entire Fire Country, and even the clouds above it were scattering over due to its amazing force.

It was way bigger than any explosion that the Rasenshuriken could've created.

Suddenly, the spherical, wind-colored sphere began slowing down its rotation, a shocking event occurring as it slowly colored itself in a bright red and white color. The winds of the sphere slowly calmed down, and eventually the sphere ended up sending warm caresses through the woods. A few seconds passed, and suddenly the gigantic dome dissolved into countless of microscopic chakra sparkles which scattered out in the wind. That display of beauty brought forth the sight of a _gigantic _clearing, standing right where Pain and Naruto clashed. Apparently, to one's shock, the grass-hairs were still in place.

But that clearing, however, was still covered with an enormous cloud of earth and wood dust, which was spread all over, reducing the sight to zero percent, marking the results of the vicious clash. The cloud didn't die down for a long while, spreading all over and penetrating the trees, slowly taking its time until it finally began fading.

As the cloud faded, Kakashi and Sakura could be seen, standing at the outskirts of the new clearing, their bodies half-turned towards the woods in order to defend themselves from the explosion. Their forelimbs were crossed infront of their face, unable to take the powerful winds sent by the clash, and their faces were in the direction of the woods.

Right behind them, still in the bushes, was the rest of the Eight Man Squad, their eyes closed and their forelimbs crossed infront of their faces as well, shielding themselves from the sphere. Fortunately, the woods they were hiding in provided a shelter, defending them from Naruto's Rasenshuriken.

At the opposite outskirts of the clearing, Jiraiya could be seen, still kneeled on the ground. His whole body was bent forwards so he was on top of an unconscious Angel. Once Jiraiya saw that the distance he took from the sphere won't be enough to defend Konan, he decided to shield her with his own body, wanting her to stay safe at all costs.

Thankfully neither he nor Konan were hurt.

The clearing itself was silent as if it was dead for a few seconds, confusing everyone in it. Kakashi perked up in disbelief, his eyes widening fully as his ears still caught the sound of the spinning Rasenshuriken, meaning that Naruto's ultimate technique was still intact. _'W-What?!' _Kakashi thought in shock as he removed his forelimbs from his face and swiftly turned around, wanting to see the source of the sound.

Sakura had done the same as well, perking up and turning around to see the results of that enormous, powerful clash, knowing that Naruto emerged victorious.

In the bushes, the Eight Man Squad removed their forelimbs from their faces as well, wanting to get a full view on what was done to both Pain and Naruto by their clash. However, they were still shocked and confused , thinking why Naruto's technique didn't go off.

Still hearing the sound of the Rasenshuriken in disbelief, Jiraiya removed himself swiftly from on top of Konan, ashamed to have made such a drastic, disgraceful move on his most powerful student's lover. He kneeled next to her and continued the healing process, instantly looking towards the center of the clearing.

Even if what they were doing at the moment wasn't the same, every single person in the clearing had a similar reaction.

Kakashi's eyes widened fully in disbelief, his jaw dropped as he stared at the sight infront of him. He was speechless and frozen in his tracks, literally shaking from shock. _'Kami…' _He thought, unable to take his eyes off that sight, his heart pounding erratically in his chest in shock.

Sakura was right next to him, her eyes widened in fear and shock, her hands clasped on her heart, her jaw dropped as well. She felt the fear growing up inside her at the sight, speechless as Kakashi was. _'W-W-What?!' _She thought mentally, trying to comprehend what she was currently seeing. _'H-How is that…'_

Behind the bushes, the Eight Man Squad was awestruck, Hinata trembling with concern, disbelief and shock at what she was seeing infront of her. Yamato was frozen in his place, the awe tearing apart his fully-widened eyes. The rest were shocked just as much as Hinata and Yamato were, even Sai and Shino, who hadn't even shown their emotions up until now had their jaws mingled with the grass.

And Jiraiya? Well, Jiraiya was marveling the sight infront of him in fear and pride, unable to take his eyes off what he was seeing, feeling his heart pounding in satisfaction and relief, knowing now that his Sensei's resolve was true. A smile spread on his face, rather a smirk of triumph, remembering Hiruzen's words. _'Hiruzen-sensei…' _He thought, grateful, knowing that his choice was truly the right one. For once in his life, he actually took on the right path. _'You were right. One's power will truly manifest and blossom when protecting those he loves.'_

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, wanting to see what happened. He didn't know why he could still feel the Rasenshuriken burning his chakra pathway system, however, the moment his sight cleared itself, the answer was obvious. Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief, his jaw slightly dropped. The shock was restraining his movements, rendering him unable to move even a finger.

The Rasenshuriken was still intact, the blades still spinning viciously, but the whole shuriken itself seemed to be trembling, as if it was afraid, afraid of what it was hiding from Naruto's sight. Naruto could feel his body steaming up, a different feeling than the one provided by the Rasenshuriken.

He knew what the source of it was.

At the other side of the "ultimate technique", Pain was standing, unscratched, his head lowered slightly and his right arm stretched to his side. His fingertips were _clutching_ down the Rasengan orb in the middle of the Rasenshuriken, making it screech and tremble as it was prevented from exploding.

'_I-Impossible…' _Kakashi thought, his eyes still widened in disbelief. Even Naruto himself was unable to make direct contact with the Rasengan, nor the Rasenshuriken, as the forces they were sending repelled his hands from them. Even when the blonde thrust his signature move at his enemies, the Rasengan would've been tearing their bodies into shreds while still making no physical contact.

Yet here was Pain_, holding down_ Naruto's most powerful attack as if it was nothing, not even moving a single inch at the moment of impact. The devastating blades of the Rasenshuriken seemed to only be fluttering his Akatsuki cloak, doing no damage and causing no pain to him.

Naruto's eyes then widened even further, able to get a glimpse of Pain's wrists, which were now covered with bright red-white colored lines, which were bent and stretched up his forelimbs. Once his eyes caught the sight, Naruto cried out in pain, feeling right his hand steaming, burn-marks spreading on his arm beneath his clothes

"Uzumaki…Naruto…" Pain muttered emotionlessly, his voice bearing no emotion. His palm clenched itself on the Rasengan orb of the Rasenshuriken, causing it to distort. The pure-blue chakra of the Rasengan suddenly colored itself in the colors of the lines on Pain's body, strengthening the winds that the Rasenshuriken was sending through the clearing.

In seconds, the wind blades of the Rasenshuriken began distorting as well, their rotation slowing down, followed by the bell-screech of the technique deepening and muting itself down. The Rasenshuriken stopped completely, widening the eyes of every single Shinobi in the clearing before it was shattered into thin sparkles.

Instantly, a vicious, gigantic shockwave of winds and steaming chakra rocked through the clearing, sending Naruto flying away with a scream of pain. He rolled across the huge clearing, finally coming into stop many feet away from the Rinnegan wielder. His upper body bended forwards, his forehead buried in the ground as the blonde held his right hand with his left one. His arm was raising off steams, filled with burn marks, and worse yet, Naruto could feel as if those steams were slowly vaporizing up everything in his body- from blood cells to bones.

He never felt like it when he used his Rasenshuriken against Kakuzu, even though he attempted to try it multiple times. He didn't even feel like that in training, and Kakashi mentioned no side-effects which were as horrible as these.

"NARUTO!" Sakura's voice tore the clearing apart, her green eyes looking at her friend trembling in pain.

Naruto raised his head, looking at Pain, who was still standing silently at the center of the clearing, staring blankly at the sky, thinking about his Angel more than ever. Pictures and memories of her raced across his mind, refusing to disappear and let go, carving themselves into his brain. _'I…I can feel it…' _He thought, closing his eyes deeply. Yes, it was that feeling, the feeling he was constantly experiencing for the past three days. However, it was pure now, he could now identify it clearly.

The more he stood there, the more captivated he became by the thoughts about Konan, as if they were attempting to plunge him into himself.

However, his trail of thoughts was cut off once Naruto managed to stand back up. The blonde was snarling, clutching down his right arm which was still steaming up, a pained expression on his face as he panted.

He wasn't going to back down, he wasn't going to run away, not even when every fabric of his being trembled in hesitation and doubt. There was no chance in hell that he, Konohagakure's future Hokage, would ever back down from an enemy and abandon his comrades, no matter how strong that enemy is.

His resolve could be shown on his face, causing Naruto's expression to turn serious and eager. However, he still didn't know how he'll manage to defeat such a monster who was able to stop his strongest technique with ease.

But for the Rinnegan wielder Naruto's choice didn't matter the slightest bit. Whether he chose to stay and protect his comrades or flee in fear with his tail between his legs, the results would still be the same…

None of them was going to leave this clearing alive.

"Here I come…Konohagakure trash…"

Before his words were even heard by the blonde's ears, Pain was already two inches away from him, his murderous glare softening. Naruto didn't have time to comprehend or react before Pain's right hand moved with blinding speed, thrusting itself into his throat and clutching it down.

The blonde began vomiting blood, his upper body bending forwards and his eyes widening themselves completely. He could feel Pain's hand crushing down his neck with no mercy, causing him to clutch his wrists with both of his hands, snarling. _'W-What the hell…' _He fumed, disbelieved. Naruto could feel his consciousness sleeping away at that point, the stream of blood into his brain slowly ceasing.

However, he didn't have time to go become numb as the Rinnegan wielder slammed down his body at the grass in barely a second. The unimaginable force of the impact shattered the center of the clearing, causing Naruto's mouth to open fully in a muted shriek.

The center of the clearing was now a gigantic crater, with Pain and Naruto in the center. Naruto's weak, exhausted eyes gazed down at Pain's Rinnegan eyes, feeling them slowly soothing down his body and soul. They were murderous, yet emotionless and filled with resolve, and when he looked at them Naruto felt he lost his will to fight.

Or perhaps it was his shattered back which was slowly knocking him unconscious.

He could feel his eyes closing, becoming heavy, his body going numb as he sunk down into darkness. Pain's eyes narrowed, seeing that Naruto was no longer moving or protesting against his hold.

Knowing that he lost consciousness, and with it, lost Pain's interest, the Rinnegan wielder calmly stood up and walked out of the gigantic crater he created, horrifying the entire Eight Man Squad as he came into view mercilessly dragging an unconscious Naruto by his throat.

'_N-Naruto…' _Sakura thought, her eyes horrifying as she took a step backwards. Her body was trembling, her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Upon seeing that sight as well, Kakashi reacted the same, only for the both of them to jump in alarm once Pain swung his right arm forwards and effortlessly hurled Naruto as if he was a ragdoll.

The unconscious Naruto hit one of the trees at the outskirts of the clearing, however, the momentum of the impact which resulted from the inhuman speed of the throw caused his body to shatter that tree apart.

Many trees came down afterwards, being knocked away and shattered when coming in contact with Naruto's body, sending shockwaves through the forest. Within seconds, an enormous dust cloud covering two miles of wrecked forest could be seen.

Sakura and Kakashi just stared there, their bodies frozen as the earth cloud slowly dissipated to reveal a devastated trail of earth and rubbles of wood in what was previously Naruto's course.

The blonde was too far from the clearing to actually be seen.

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed again, her voice devastated, terrorized. She suddenly went dead-silent, her fearful eyes flanking at Pain, seeing that he was looking blankly at the trail left by Naruto.

Sakura took a few steps back, her hearts missing beats when Pain's eyes glanced at her ever so slowly, studying her expression. His emotionless Rinnegan literally caused her to go numb, perking Kakashi up when he realized the Rinnegan wielder was looking at her.

It was only then that, before he even managed to notice, Pain was right next to Sakura, on her right, the sides of their bodies facing each other. Every single inch in the clearing was silent, Pain staring emotionlessly into the woods while Sakura looked at where his previous location was, still unable to digest he disappeared.

However, before she did manage to realize he was next to her, Kakashi pulled Sakura in towards him then rotated and pushed her away as hard as he could, causing her to yell in alarm as she was sent tumbling to the ground.

She instantly looked at him from over her shoulders, her widened eyes realizing what just happened. Kakashi's Konohagakure forehead protector was pulled upwards, revealing his Sharingan.

It was only thanks to Obito's eye that he managed to react to Pain's movement.

"GO, SAKURAAA!" Kakashi raged at her, in a tone that Sakura had never heard before, filled with desperation and concern. Not spending even a split-second, Kakashi turned around and attempted to send a roundhouse kick at the Rinnegan wielder.

Pain barely tilted his head, causing Kakashi's kick to miss by an inch as the Jonin quickly rebounded and attempted to make his next move. Knowing that he must do everything he can to keep that monster from Sakura, Kakashi sent both of his hands to the sides, his Sharingan widening. "Raikiri!" He yelled courageously, seconds before roaring lightning engulfed both of his hands. His body then decided to move on its own, rapidly throwing flexible, powerful arm-swings and various kicks at Pain.

The leader of Akatsuki still looked blankly at Kakashi, as if he was out of focus while effortlessly dodging every single attack Kakashi sent at him, causing the Copy Ninja to feel fear dwelling up inside of him. _'He's so fast…' _He thought in shock, trying even harder to at least land a single hit at Pain, who was still swiftly moving around the clearing with him, elegantly dodging his attacks. He barely managed to follow his movements with his Sharingan, let alone realize that he dodged his previous attack before sending another one. He found himself staring deeply at the way he moved, marveling in awe how Pain was just unintentionally toying with him. Moreover, he found himself gazing into his blank eyes, trivial about the strange pattern they had. He never saw something like this before, as if his eyes were just slowly shackling him down, making him slow and numb. _'Just…what are you, Pain!?'_

As he was dodging from Kakashi's attacks, the Rinnegan wielder glanced at Sakura, seeing that she was just standing there, her eyes following them, frozen in her tracks. However, she was starting to react, slowly trying to move her legs backwards, step by step.

Catching the sight of her moving legs, Pain's eyes snapped slightly, his unfocused, blank Rinnegan contracting, finally regaining his senses. Slight shock and realization could be seen in his expression, causing Kakashi to glance at Sakura as well, his eyes widened, desperate. "I TOLD YOU TO RUN!" He raged at her, knowing that Pain will soon make his move. He didn't want Sakura to be in the clearing when it happens.

Sakura heard Kakashi's words tearing through her ears, causing her expression to snap just like Pain's. She realized what was happening, returning to focus and realizing what must be done as she slowly walked backwards. When she was far enough from the warring duo, Sakura turned around and started running towards the outskirts of the clearing, which were quite far.

Pain just looked at her while dodging Kakashi's attacks, noting how pathetic she looked…how pathetic she _was_. She wanted to escape, to flee towards safety, to run away, and by the way she ran Pain could tell she was actually hoping she will succeed.

No…there was no chance in Kami that he was going to let that flicker of hope in Sakura's heart continue shimmering.

Still not saying a word, the Rinnegan wielder grabbed Kakashi's right wrist when he attempted to strike him with his Raikiri once again, causing the Copy Ninja to cry out as he slowly tightened his clutch, the Raikiri in his right palm slowly ceasing.

Trying to ignore the immense pain from the Akatsuki leader's effortless hold, Kakashi thrust his left Raikiri at his enemy, his expression angered, only to widen his eyes in terror again as Pain folded his other forelimb upwards and actually grabbed his left palm.

Pain's expression didn't change the slightest at the feeling of feeling of Kakashi's Raikiri making direct contact with his body. On the contrary- Kakashi cried in pain, closing his eyes shut as his Raikiri went wild, the lightning screaming in pain. Its' color slowly changed from pure-blue to red and white, the same with the Rasengan in Naruto's Rasenshuriken, and Kakashi knew what was going to happen next.

His eyes snapped open and widened, feeling his body being vaporized, his left arm steaming up. The pain was inhuman, causing the Copy Ninja to drop to his knees, lowering his head as he attempted to struggle against Pain's hold.

Realizing that there was no use to let Kakashi suffer any more, Pain released his hold of his left palm, allowing him to viciously pull it, tilting his body to the right as he did so. He managed to get a glimpse of the Rinnegan wielder raising his right hand upwards and extending a sharp, blood-tinted chakra blade from his sleeve.

For some reason, Pain's chakra blade was raising off steams, but Kakashi had no time to comprehend on that thought as Pain swung down his arm with inhuman agility, vertically slashing down the Copy Ninja.

The sound of cut flesh mingling with the splashes of blood could be heard all over the clearing as Kakashi realized what happened, feeling incredible pain tearing apart his body. His head dropped backwards, his eyes completely widened, almost rolling to the back of his head, feeling his body going numb from the pain, blood gushing from the gigantic cut in his upper body.

He had no time to dwell on the pain before the Akatsuki leader impaled his shoulder with the same chakra blade, which was still tainted with his blood. That was when Kakashi's heart snapped, feeling his body being vaporized and digested from within.

A second after and he was kicked in his neck by Pain, the massive sound of the impact covering the cracking sound his throat made. Kakashi was sent rolling across the clearing, the massive force of Pain's kick causing him to finally scream.

The dying Copy Ninja finally collided with one of the trees in the clearing's outskirts, shattering it completely and sending a cloud of wooden dust all over. The cloud lasted a few seconds before dissipating to reveal him in an unconscious sitting position, his head dropped forwards and his body surrounded with the tree's wooden rubble. His body was steaming and his Konohagakure flak jacket was covered with blood, blood which literally shimmered in Sakura's eyes when she finally caught the sight of her teacher.

"KAKASHI-SENSEIIIII!" Sakura shrieked in horror, freezing in her tracks, her expression horrified. She couldn't even describe the feelings which were flooding through her body, however, she instantly turned around and began dashing towards her unconscious, dying Sensei.

Before she was inches away from her destination, the pink-haired Kunoichi couldn't help but glancing over her shoulder at Pain, only to widen her eyes in alarm and fear when she saw he disappeared with no trace. Before she managed to turn her head back, her body collided with a solid, cold material.

Before she knew it, Sakura was on the floor a feet away from where she has been, her upper body stretched upwards and her hands supporting her up. Her shocked, widened eyes were gazing at Pain's figure in disbelief, his height blocking Kakashi from her sight.

He was looking at her blankly, the same expression he had while fighting the Copy Ninja, one that caused her body to shake so heavily it froze. The Kunoichi's heart started missing beats as everything went blurred, yet somehow she managed to instantly rebound into a firm stance, dashing to the other side of the clearing so she was fairly far away from the Rinnegan wielder.

Sakura then clenched both of her fists, snarling at Pain, who was blankly and emotionlessly gazing at her. Even though his gaze gauged holes in her body, the Kunoichi took her fighting stance, motioning Pain that she, like Naruto, wasn't going to run away. She was still unable to hide her fear and hesitation though. _'H-How can I beat that monster?!' _Her mind screamed at her, her own resolve to fight the leader of Akatsuki slowly slipping away, knowing that if she decides to battle him she'll end up like Kakashi and Naruto…or even worse. _'N-No, Sakura! You have to be strong! You took down Sasori of the Akatsuki! If you ever want to save Sasuke-kun…you can't be afraid! I can't be afraid! I'm doing this for Chiyo-basama, for Asuma-Sensei, for Kakashi-Sensei, for Naruto! I'm facing that basta-'_

Before she got to finish up her thought, Pain was now, again, besides her, the side of his body facing her own, staring blankly at the woods. She could feel her heart sinking to her legs, her eyes completely widening. She didn't even manage see him moving, as focused as she was, and there he was, right next to her.

She managed to regain the strength to move and took a few steps backwards as fast as she could, her body afraid. All Pain did was just standing there, staring at the woods as if he was frozen. _'He's waiting…he wants me to make the first move…' _She thought, her expression terrified. Her eyes then hardened, taking a deep breath and clenching both of her fists. Her hands were engulfed with deep, thick chakra that resembled embers. She was going to make him regret that he underestimated her strength.

"HERE I GO!"

With the most vicious battle roar she ever released, the pink-haired Kunoichi charged at the Rinnegan wielder, putting her whole strength in her right arm and concentrating every bit of her chakra into her right fist. She swung her upper body forwards, using the vicious momentum which was generated to swing her arm as hard as she could at the Rinnegan wielder, her fist roaming towards with incredible speed.

And in the next second, her fist was being held inside Pain's hand, the Rinnegan wielder folding his forelimb upwards to grab her strongest attack effortlessly, causing a small shockwave to rock through the clearing. The momentum, like the impact from Sakura's punch, disappeared as if it was nothing. Worse was that Pain's body didn't move an inch from the impact, the Akatsuki leader's figure not wavering the slightest.

Sakura's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, her jaw dropped at the sight of how Pain handled her strongest punch. That was the moment when her entire resolve slipped away, making room to allow fear crawl around her body.

Unaware to the Kunoichi, at the time when he was not doing a thing, the Rinnegan wielder was not intending to allow Sakura to make a move, not at all. He was actually marveling at all the different ways he could kill her in, he was marveling at all the different ways he can make her scream, to see her blood, to crush down her body, to make her want to die. He was marveling at how many ways there were to make her pay for what she has done, for all the pain she brought upon his Angel…his beautiful Angel.

Without saying a word, only having a microscopic smirk grow on his lips as he sunk in his thoughts, Pain rotated his hand with Sakura's, and before he knew it, the Kunoichi dropped to her knees. She grinned her teeth, trying to prevent the unimaginable pain to let her screams escape from her lungs. She closed her eyes shut, feeling Pain's hand slowly squeezing down her own, the Rinnegan wielder enjoying every second.

Sakura grabbed her right wrist with her free, uncrushed hand, screaming as she lowered her head and snarled, trembling viciously. The pain tore her body apart, soaking her glove with her own blood, soaking Pain's hand with her own blood.

The Rinnegan wielder then pulled Sakura's hand upwards, forcing her to unwillingly stand up, feeling his clutch nearly rupturing her shoulder apart. She was fully standing when Pain continued raising his hand upwards, pulling Sakura along with his hand so her feet were now above ground.

Sakura never managed to realize how the Rinnegan wielder had enough strength to lift up her body weight so easily, and she didn't even care as now her sore, shattered shoulder was now supporting the rest of her body. Even though her sobbing eyes were closed shut, she knew that her face was inches away from Pain's.

"Trash…" Pain chuckled, a slight smirk visible on his face as his body trembled, trembled in the desire to kill her. His voice echoed through Sakura's ears, causing her body to shake viciously in fear. His tone was so different than the way it was, so firm, so murderous, so emotionless. "You…you…I will…make you…_scream_…I will make you…_beg_…you will…_cry_…plead for me…to _kill_ you…when I'm done…with you. I am going…to do…such horrible things to you…that you cannot even begin to…imagine the pain…the pain I will bring…upon you…"

* * *

On the other side of the clearing, Jiraiya's eyes hardened, his expression almost turning into a snarl. He was, at first, marveling Pain's strength and desire to protect Konan…however, that admiring look soon turned into one of fear and remorse. _'Nagato…' _He thought, looking down at Konan, seeing that her wound was still slightly opened. If he just as much as removes his hands from her body for even the slightest second, the consequences will be horrible. The Toad Sage was now torn apart, a storm of emotions dwelling inside him.

At first, he was enraged to see what Naruto and the others did to his most beloved students, and if it wasn't for Pain jumping in to protect Konan from Naruto's Rasenshuriken, he would've punished the Eight Man Squad by himself.

Pain indeed wanted to protect Konan. Heck, his desire to keep his Angel safe was so powerful that even though the Toad Sage didn't complete the release, the Heavenly Protection Seal instantly unlocked itself to the Rinnegan wielder. But as he witnessed Pain terrorizing Naruto and Kakashi, he could feel pain and remorse dwelling inside him.

As angered as he was at them, Naruto was still one of his beloved students, and Kakashi was still Minato's favorite student…and seeing them being butchered so horribly by Pain, he couldn't help but thinking that he may have allowed his emotions get the better of him.

However, he knew that Pain's side was even more horrible. He knew what Konohagakure has done to his parents, to Yahiko. The Toad Sage knew that Konan was everything for Pain, just like how he and Konan are everything for him…and for Pain's lover to be so horribly injured by the same village who killed his parents…

He could only imagine how Nagato felt.

Still, he knew that Pain was going too far, and what kept him curious was that his seal is still activated, as if supporting him blindingly. _'Nagato…I know you're angered at what they did to Konan-hime…' _He thought hesitatingly, his snarl hardening, eying Pain for any sign of consciousness, of mortality, anything that could tell him that the Rinnegan wielder was still in his senses.

He found none.

The worst part was that he couldn't do anything to stop him.

'_Nagato…you're going too far!'_

Sakura was now frozen in her tracks, her muscles numb, her body shaking in terror and fear, afraid to open her eyes, feeling like Pain's gaze is strangling her down. She felt weak, exhausted, as if her consciousness was slowly slipping away.

* * *

"S-SAKU-"

Yamato instantly covered Kiba's mouth with his hand, causing the canine to fume, swear and rage into it. "Don't…speak…a single word." He muttered coldly, emotionlessly, shocking the rest of the Eight Man Squad, who were looking at Pain and Sakura. "If you do, we'll all end up just like Kakashi and Sakura."

Everyone perked up in shock at Yamato's order, awestruck at his command and his reactions, which were so highly unpredictable that it hurt. "YYamato-Sensei, you're saying that we should just leave Sakura?" Shino asked in a whisper, almost exclaimed. At this point, even _his _tone was disbelieved, shocked at everything that was happening right now.

If Hinata was with them, she would've protested as well. However, the moment Naruto was sent flying two miles into the distance, it was only a matter of time until the Hyuga will as well.

"There is a difference between leaving a friend behind and jumping into your death…" Sai pointed out emotionlessly, shocking Kiba and Shino. "I faced many situations like that in the Root. When we ambushed an enemy, when we were discovered by an enemy…our team needed to wait for the right opportunity…and sometimes it cost us many brave comrades…either charging to their deaths or dying infront of our eyes. That is the price of being a Shinobi. That was the most basic rule during the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars. It is a price that we must pay, it is a price that many other Shinobi paid before us.

"We have…really have gotten ourselves into trouble this time…" Yamato muttered, looking at the unconscious, dying Kakashi at the other side of the clearing. The blood just kept gushing of the huge, vertical cut Pain made in his torso, causing Yamato's expression to turn concerned. "We need the right moment to do this. For now…none of you move an inch or I won't have a choice but to silence you."

The rest of the Eight Man Squad remained silent at Yamato's orders, shocked and disbelieved, except from Sai, who had no trouble agreeing. Eventually Kiba and Shino had to submit and comply, knowing that, as merciless and cruel as it was, Yamato was speaking the truth.

All they could do is to look at Pain and Sakura like a snake chocking down its prey.

* * *

"Where is…that courage…trash?" Pain whispered devilishly, his smirk slightly visible. The image of Sakura kicking his Angel in her abdomen kept running through his mind, turning that smirk into a frown, and from a frown into a cold, murderous glare. He wanted to kill that Sakura so much that this murderous desire engulfed his mind. "Where is…that courage you had…when you kicked my Angel like that…when you…injured her…like that? You…you made her cry…you made her bleed…scream…no…it's…unforgivable…I won't let you go. You…you must pay…for everything you've done…to Konan…"

And with those sayings, Pain's eyes finally squinted, looking at the grass, his face turned downwards so he wasn't looking at Sakura. For some reason, the Kunoichi knew that his eyes opened, causing her heart to nearly explode. "Know…pain…" He muttered, his voice suddenly crawling its way into Sakura's ears.

Sakura could feel her body sinking down for some reason, as if Pain's words were blurring her, caressing her body.

* * *

Miles away from the clearing, Nagato was hiding among the woods, connected into a heavy, oversized mechanical walker. Nagato's red hair was the only thing visible among the shadows, aside from his grey skin which seemed to only get darker from the shades hiding it. "…comprehend pain…accept pain…feel pain…" Nagato muttered, his Rinnegan eyes closed as if he was out of focus, his head dropped, panting viciously. The memories of the Second Great Shinobi world war began appearing in his mind, clouding it with the thoughts of death. "Rain of blood…clouds of bloodshed…skies of war…the war created by your people…by your village…you will feel it…the same way I have…roam beyond your nightmares…roam beyond your fears…"

Nagato began coughing, blood starting to slightly drip from his mouth, exhausted.

* * *

Back at the clearing, Pain's eyes snapped open and widened completely, the rings of the Rinnegan shrinking and contracting. His pupils shrunk, staring deeply at Sakura's face, seeing that her expression was starting to turn unconscious. Sakura felt as if the world was darkening around her, and if it wasn't enough, Pain's words were literally _embedding _themselves into her mind.

"**Your sun…will never rise again…the screams of death will become your own. Become one with suffering, become with pain…the pain you brought upon my Angel…will be the pain I will bring upon you...Konohagakure trash…"**

And that was when Sakura could hear no more.

**"Gedo Rinne Genjutsu Art..."**

**"Eternal Tsukuyomi..."**

* * *

And with that, ends the ninth chapter of ANPAL.

Well, not exactly the ninth chapter.

You see, I realized that the original Chapter 9 was, like the previous chapter, too long. I was falling behind schedule since my return from the field trip, and I really thought I need to give you, my precious readers, _something _to read.

Yes, yes, don't kill me for putting another cliff-hanger, I just couldn't resist. Besides, it was the most suitable part in which I can split Chapter 9 into two.

So, **Chapter 10- Know pain **(no pun intended) will be the second part of Chapter 9, and to be honest- will be filled with much more action than this chapter. We will continue Pain's battle against Konohagakure's Eight Man Squad, and will see how Naruto Shippuden's heroes will manage to hold against a murderous, enraged Pain.

I am, again, sorry for the incredibly long delay, and wish you all good luck on whatever you're doing.

Oh, even though I don't really deserve it this time, I will motion you towards the bottom of this page where you'll meet a very close friend of mine, the _**REVIEW CHATBOX**_, where you can voice your opinions, your ideas, or just comment on this chapter and many other chapters before it.

I will see you all in around a week or two, and again, sorry for the long delay.

ForPain.


	10. Know Pain!

**Chapter 10- Know Pain.**

"Speech."

'_Thoughts.'_

"_Past Speech"_

"**Echoing Speech."**

**Author Edition Notes  
**

* * *

So, first of all, again, I would like to apologize for the amazingly long delay in my updating schedule. Damn…seems as if I'm around a MONTH late! I need to really catch up!

Thank you, all of you, my readers, for reading my story and voicing your opinions. Your reviews allowed me to reflect upon the improvement I need to make to become a better author, and I couldn't have done this chapter without your constant support.

A small discussion- as I was concerned, AGAIN, I was forced to SPLIT the chapter AGAIN due to its length…and possible plot considerations (but hey, only I should know about that). This chapter, unlike the others beforehand, will be filled with **ACTION **and **VIOLENCE **and **SUSPENSE**! It will get you sticking into your chair and bringing your food from the kitchen to your room because you don't want to miss a single **SECOND**!

So, after you come back to the bottom of this page, I'll be there to meet you.

**Oh, I forgot to add something- in the date of 11.16.2012 this chapter was edited to fit in the entire battle. So those of you who have already read the chapter, please re-read it as it now contains the end you have been expecting for. Sorry for that, I simply thought about a better ending to Chapter 10 and didn't want the battle content in chapter 11 to be mixed with the dialogue content.**

Happy reading~

* * *

Sakura's eyes snapped open with a gasp, which instantly turned into a scream of fear and stress. She went silent, slowly looking downwards, her eyes widening as she caught the sight of her hands. They were amazingly fine, and somehow, the Kunoichi found it usual that her entire body was colored in a black shade, her outlines being white.

She looked around her, noting that her environment was a dead, endless wasteland which was colored with the same shades of black and white as she was. She looked upwards, the moon was gigantic and didn't move and inch, the skies around it were colored in a deep shade of bloodied-red.

There was a strange feeling to this darkened wasteland, a feeling which made her tired and numb. Was all of this real?! Yes, it was. She felt completely normal, so real and embracing.

Then what is that twisted feeling creeping into her? What are those silent screams in her head?

'_W-What is this place?' _Sakura thought as she stood up, contemplating as she continued walking and looking around. The more she moved, the less it seemed like she was moving, as if she was stuck in place throughout that endless wasteland. She realized everything was real- she could feel everything around her and could do as her body commanded. She even controlled her own thoughts.

Hours on top of hours had passed, and still the pink Kunoichi could swear everything was fine. She was getting tired, unaware that the sun didn't rise up at all. The moon was still gazing at her, the bleeding sky surrounding it. _'I don't get it…I feel something's wrong but there's no sign of Genjutsu!' _Sakura thought, looking all over. She then froze in her tracks, her eyes widening when she looked at the moon, seeing it wasn't moving. The screams and whispers echoing in her mind only strengthened, but however, it was totally natural. She was Tsunade's apprentice- if she was under a Genjutsu she would've recognized it right away. _'The screams…they're not…leaving my head!'_

Her eyes suddenly snapped, fully widened when she caught the sight infront of her- staring deeply into the pattern of the Rinnegan which covered the moon, gauging the same way Pain's eyes did. The Kunoichi perked up completely, seeing that the moon was the same barely a blink after.

In a blink it came and in a blink it went. She was just getting tired, there was absolutely no Rinnegan in the sky.

Sakura's eyes widened, feeling the world suddenly spin around her, horror climbing up her body. Her breathing became fast, and soon enough she was sprinting through the wasteland as fast as she could. _'W-What is this place?!' _She screamed mentally, snarling as she looked all over, seeing that she was running through a small village across the wasteland.

"**DAMMIT! ENEMIES?!"**

Sakura found herself inside a living room of a house, colored in the same colors as the wasteland, the pitch-black void with white outlines making her body numb. Her eyes were completely widened, feeling some sort of connection to that foreign, unfamiliar place.

Her eyes caught a man, in the same color as she was, charging at a similar colored Konohagakure Shinobi, releasing a battle cry which was filled with so much despair and agony.

The man didn't seem to care that he's even armed. He clashed with the Shinobi with amazing force, sending himself to his death as his armed enemy slashed his body down with his kunai, spraying blood all over the place.

The blood was in the color of blood, but a stronger shade than regular blood. It was calling, silently whispering to her, talking with words she could not understand, and was grateful for that. It glowed to her eyes, dominating her eye-sight.

"**NAGATO, RUN!"**

Sakura's eyes widened even further, seeing a woman sprinting towards another Konohagakure Shinobi, her fate eventually ending the same as the man who came before her. And before she knew it, even more blood was splashed across the living room.

And a second after she was crying in the corner of the room, the two Konohagakure Shinobi slaughtered, sprawled on the floor, blood gushing out of their bodies, tainting the wooden floor. _'No…no…please…make it stop…' _Sakura screamed mentally, her sobbing eyes looking at the man and the woman who just sacrificed themselves to save her. She didn't know them, she has never seen them before in her life…so why was she crying like this?!

She walked on all-four towards one of the dead Konohagakure Shinobi, looking at his face, thinking that maybe she will recognize who it was. No, his face was unfamiliar, but upon looking at his Konohagakure Forehead Protector, which was the only think colored in a shining aura of silver, Sakura's eyes completely widened in disbelief.

She saw…Pain's Rinnegan.

Her reflection…her face…through the Forehead Protector she could see she was bearing Pain's Rinnegan. Her heart almost exploding in her chest, she instantly tore apart the Shinobi's Forehead Protector, wanting to get a closer look.

She perked up, seeing that her eyes weren't the Rinnegan at all- they were still her green, emerald eyes. She was speechless, words could not describe how confused and shocked she was.

Before she knew it, Sakura was kneeling in the middle of the same wasteland she spent _days _walking through. _'What is…happening to me?' _Sakura thought as she looked at her palms, snarling, seeing that they were still the same, that everything was still normal. Those screams of agony and pain refused to leave her mind, not the mention that each beat of her heart pounded her chest like a hammer.

She slowly managed to gain the strength to stand up, and without hesitating or doubting what her next destination will be, the Kunoichi began wandering through the wasteland aimlessly, as if she was a dead woman walking.

Her body was exhausted, yet somehow she continued moving on, spending days walking through the wasteland. She didn't know the exact time as she lost track of it, the moon not moving a single inch no matter how far she traveled.

She didn't know if she has been walking for hours…days…weeks…months…or years, but nevertheless she didn't even care.

And then, out of nowhere, a figure came charging at her, causing Sakura to perk up and take a step backwards in a defensive position. And before she managed to comprehend on what just happened, the figure bumped into her with great force, sending her a few steps backwards.

Her eyes widened, hearing the sound of flesh being pierced, the vicious metal echoing through her ears, causing her jaw to drop and her body to tremble. She could feel a kunai in her hand, and soon after, a warm liquid began gushing down her wrist.

She glanced to her right, her eyes horrified, looking at the man's spiky hair, seeing that by the looks of it he was probably around his teenage years, or maybe at the end of it. The man grinned, blood gushing down his mouth as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

It was then when Sakura felt unbelievable pain and devastation tearing her from the inside, as if half of her heart was taken away, as if a part of her soul died, a part of her dreams. Her body was trembling viciously, frozen in its tracks by the shock and agony, her eyes widening to the point her eyeballs began popping out.

The spiky-haired man chuckled, perking Sakura up from her trauma. **"Nagato…" **He started weakly, his voice hoarse, trembling, blurred by the blood that was gushing out of his mouth. His voice…his voice caused Sakura to almost give into her trauma, recognizing that cursed, damned voice.

It was…Pain's voice.

"**You and Konan…you too must survive…at…all costs."**

The man's legs failed his as he barely went down on Sakura's body, dying slowly as he did so. **"You are…the savior…of this…world…" **The man chocked, wincing, his voice fading away as he seemed to be fighting against death. The man then lost his support and slowly began falling right next to Sakura, the bloodied kunai withdrawing from his abdomen.

"**I'm sure…you…can…"**

The man's body hit the ground with a loud thud, and Sakura was only standing there, shocked, devastated, unable to realize what just happened, _not wanting _to realize what just happened. _'N-Nagato?!' _She thought shockingly, time standing by as she felt her body going numb, realizing that something so wrong…however, nothing could've been more fine at the same time.

She could only glance at a small hill which wasn't there a second before, shocked again when she managed to spot a too-familiar figure at the top of it, barely standing, her eyes completely widened and tears overflowing from them. The woman's jaw dropped in devastation, her snarl rocking down Sakura's heart.

Behind her was an unfamiliar man, wearing something that seemed to be like a gas-mask. He was holding the woman hostage. Before Sakura could prepare herself, the woman opened her mouth, and the world seemed to be turning blacker and blacker every second from that point on.

And before she knew it, Sakura was standing in a middle of a pitch-black void.

"**YAHIKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !"**

As the scream tore apart the eternal abyss, Sakura's eyes widened when a raindrop fell down and dripped on her shoulder. She looked at it, brushing her finger to smear it up and bring it closer to her eyes, which were now widened, filled with confusion and fear. _'B-B-Blood?!' _She thought shockingly, looking at the bloodied teardrop which was soon followed by many others, rain of blood coming down upon her from the skies of an industrial-looking village peeking over the horizon. The village housed many tall buildings which were made out of pipes and stones, and was in the middle of the wasteland.

The rain of blood was painting the wasteland's surface in its color, as if the ground was just a canvas for it. The bloodied raindrops were also clinging into Sakura's body as she began running as fast as she could towards that village, her mind horrified and weak, feeling as if she was going to lose her sanity any second.

'_H-How can such…a horrible thing…happen?!' _She screamed mentally, knowing that it was all real, knowing that there were no signs of genjutsu around. She could still freely control the movements of her body, she could freely control her thoughts and words, could act as she desired. Those few facts countered everything she'd learned about genjutsu, where the being influenced by it is unable to move or think correctly.

As Sakura reached the village, she began wandering through the horrible, abandoned streets, looking all over. It was dead-silent, the pipe-filled skyscrapers only injecting fear into her. The stoned floor seemed to be wrecked, and was constantly absorbing the rain of blood.

Suddenly, a fire burst throughout one of the buildings in the midst of the bloody rain, sending heat waves all over as it engulfed the rest of the structures in the streets and caused them to collapse into fiery ruins in barely a few seconds. Sakura's eyes widened in horror as screams of terror began echoing through the fire, multiplying as time passed. She didn't even bother to notice that the rain of blood didn't extinguish the flames.

Sakura began turning around and looking all over, seeing shadowy figures of men and women fleeing inside the flames. Each one eventually dropped on the floor, releasing a horrified scream before turning motionless as a corpse.

"**N-No…please…you can't, you won't! I'm begging you!" **A man's voice echoed through the flames, causing Sakura to turn her expression towards two shadowy figures. One of them was at the floor, propelling its upper body upwards, looking at another cloaked figure that was just standing calmly.

The standing figure raised it's right arm and withdrew a shadowed, narrow pole with a blade-like ending from the sleeve of its long cloak, doing so with no movement of hesitation.

"**Please! Please let me go! I don't know Hanzo I swea-"**

Before the dying figure could finish its plea, the other figure impaled the pole into its head, the shadow of blood splashing everywhere as the dead figure collapsed into the ruins, motionless. The other figure just stood there, looking at the corpse.

Sakura took a few steps backwards in fear, the bleeding rain tapping on her body, her eyes completely widening in horror as the shadowy figure turned its head to look at her, not saying a word as the shadows of many other figures faded in. Every single shadow fell to the ground, blood splashing all over it as the cloaked, calm figure began slowly walking towards Sakura.

Before the Kunoichi knew it, a horrible scream of terror erupted from her mouth as she began running as fast as she could, fleeing for her life, tears streaming down her eyes. The rain of blood didn't cease, it still continued tapping violently on her body, driving her mad. _**'Naruto…Kakashi-sensei…HELP ME!'**_She screamed mentally, her thoughts echoing through her head as she didn't look back, the district of flames endless before her, the screams of terror and death tearing apart her mind.

Sakura then perked up, seeing a tiny shimmer of light at the end of the eternal district, a light that only caused her to speed up and gasp as if she was running for her life. The light was whispering her name, its voice echoing through her mind, calling her, engulfing her with warmth.

She charged through the light, the white color blinding her eyes, numbing down her entire body, causing her to feel as if she was hovering.

When the Kunoichi came to her eyes widened heavily in disbelief, finding herself again at the same place where she started- the allies of the industrial village. The rain of blood was still tapping on her body, washing it, covering her with its colors.

It was quiet, too quiet, and for some reason Sakura failed to notice the figures dressed in rain cloaks heading towards different directions around the district, walking in the same pace, with the same gestures, as if they were all the same. Their faces were shadowed, and before she knew it, Sakura was again making her way through the district, fear crawling inside her, threatening to take away her sanity once again.

She constantly bumped and tackled the figures, apologizing every single time, but whenever she did, the figures just continued on their way, as if they weren't focused or aware of their surroundings, not bothering to reckon her apologies.

'_W-What am I doing?!' _Sakura asked mentally as she noticed that she was losing her way through the endless district for over an hour, roaming through the hypnotized figures, trying to find her lost way back. _'Where am I even trying to go? I need…I need to ask one of these people for help!'_

Sakura's eyes traveled to the first figure she managed to notice among the crowd around her, walking away. Its back faced to her as it continued down the street, blending in with familiar cloaked figures. Every single person Sakura managed to see were wearing similar-looking rain cloaks, making them look the same from behind. **"H-Hey, excuse me!" **Sakura yelled frantically, speeding up towards the figure, hearing her own voice echoing through the streets. The figure did nothing to motion it noticed her voice and just continued down the district.

Sakura suddenly noticed she was going backwards, and the faster she sped up, the father the figure got from her. Many other figures began bypassing her from behind as she did so, and eventually Sakura couldn't take it and stretched out her hand, grabbing the shoulder of the next figure that got near her. His body structure was that of a man in his twenties, perhaps around eighteen.

"**Hey, you, can you tell me whe-"**

Sakura gasped heavily, her heart missing beats as she took a few steps backwards in fear, her body trembling as she began losing her balance. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped, her green pupils locked with the figure's face, looking at its ringed eyes, that horrifying, gauging Rinnegan she knew so well.

She was staring…deeply into Pain's emotionless face.

Before Sakura realized, she was charging forward at the man, snarling, her eyes streaming with tears as she. Just like in the clearing, she again prepared her strongest punch, surrounding her palms with glowing, blue chakra that seemed to shimmer among the darkened, white-outlined world.

She took the amazing momentum, her vicious snarl glued to her face, gathering all of her hatred towards the one who caused her and her friends so much pain. She thrust her right arm forwards, preparing to strike down the Rinnegan wielder's face. Her eyes widened completely, filled with terror and fear as her body merely passed through Pain's body as if it was thin air.

The uncontrollable momentum caused her to trip forwards and hit the floor with a loud thud. Almost on reflexes alone, she instantly turned around, her front body facing Pain as she attempted to crawl away in fear, trembling. Why did she crawl away instead of standing up!? Why did she break one of the most important rules for a Shinobi- never stay on the ground!?

Her thoughts dissipated when she caught Pain looking at her, his eyes gauging up holes into her soul once again, filled with darkness that kept creeping into her from his Rinnegan. Sakura wanted to scream as loud as she could in fear, so that was exactly what she did.

The Kunoichi let out a roaring shriek from the top of her lungs as she got up and, without hesitating, turned around and began tearing apart through the street with speed she never knew she had, trying to get away from Pain. She failed to notice that this time, instead of bumping into the cloaked figure, she was actually passing through them.

Before she passed through every figure, the figure turned its head to look at her, revealing itself as Pain, only terrorizing Sakura more, causing her to increase her pace. The district was endless, the rain of blood got thicker and wilder, the drops of blood nearly carving holes into her silhouette.

'_**T-This isn't real…' **_Sakura finally concluded, her thoughts echoing through the industrial village, finally realizing that everything was wrong all along. She was gasping and panting viciously, losing her mind, losing the fragment of sanity that she held so tightly on, feeling her fears and her traumas tearing her heart apart. _**'T-This **_**must **_**be a nightmare!'**_

**"No…"**

Sakura perked up and opened her eyes a split second before she bumped into that too-familiar figure. The impact sent her to the floor with another loud thud, her body trembling and her eyes widened, looking up to see Pain gazing down at her, his Rinnegan eyes emotionless, yet filled with so much rage and murderous intent.

She began hypertilating as she crawled back and stood up, about to charge into the opposite direction, about to do anything to escape this horrible person. Her eyes widened in disbelief, seeing that another Pain was blocking her escape route, and before she knew it, the traumatized, hypertilating Sakura was surrounded with countless of Pains, each Pain seeming exactly original as the other. They were all staring at her with those eyes, those eyes which caused her to lose her mind, caused her to scream mentally, tore her apart.

Sakura felt the temperature around her rising to extreme levels, the ground below her reflecting some sort of purple light, the sound of flames roaming around the streets. The light thickened and expanded, causing Sakura's eyes to widen yet again as she slowly looked upwards, her eyes nearly popping out of her sockets. The moon was diving down at the village, covered in purple, glowing flames, melting the buildings around it.

Amidst the purple flames, blood began tainting the burning moon, taking shape and form as it slowly formed the horrifying pattern of the Rinnegan, making Sakura feel like she was staring an inch away from Pain's eyes. It even held the same emotionless, yet murderous touch.

She never managed to feel the moon colliding with the village, as just in the same moment everything went pitch-black once again. Time that seemed like eternity passed, and when Sakura came to, awakening from her coma, she perked up in disbelief.

Sakura instantly yelped and looked downwards, but was awestruck when she saw she was sitting on an ugly frog-like statue. However, unlike before, she could see the other colors aside from black and white. She looked around, her eyes widening, staring at the amazing yet depressing view of the industrial village, the village she was running through for so long. The rain of blood never really ceased, painting the buildings and the streets in its color.

Looking at that view was what cracked her up.

Unable to take anymore, tears began streaming down Sakura's eyes as she snarled, her expression starting to sob. Her sobs soon turned into wails, bringing out many tears which rolled down her cheeks. She buried her head into her knees, crying her heart out, feeling like she finally lost it. _**'Naruto…Kakashi-Sensei…' **_She sobbed mentally, disbelieved at what that bastard Pain had done to her, thinking about the two closest people to her. Yes, she had a family, but for some reason she wasn't thinking of them now. The image of Pain bore itself into her mind, causing her expression to turn enraged among the tears. _**'Stop…you bastard…make this nightmare stop!'**_

Suddenly, loud shrieks echoed through the industrial village, shrieks containing so much agony and despair that they almost made Sakura's heart shatter. Sakura's eyes widened as she lifted her head from her knees, staring emptily into the endless village.

She recognized those voices…heck, how wouldn't she?! These were the screams of Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke.

Before she knew it, Sakura was running through eternal, dark, pipe-filled hallways, searching for the direction in which the shrieks came from, barely noticing which turns she took. But no matter how far she went, how deep she went into the building she found herself in, the screams of her comrades seemed to remain similar in volume and pitch…she wasn't even getting farther or closer towards the source.

She took turn after turn, not exactly knowing where she was going, her legs moving on their own as she lost count of the turns she took, not bothering to resume counting anymore. The maze was slowly creeping its way into her heart, whispers boring into her head, whispering, caressing. She took one more turn, and to her luck, she reached a dead end with a normal, mid-sized wooden door.

Sakura couldn't prepare herself as a loud, devastated shriek erupted through the door, echoing through the hallways of the maze, causing Sakura to take a step back and widen her eyes in horror.

She recognized the feminine voice of the shriek, causing her eyes to harden with anger and hatred.

The voice belonged to Konan.

However, Sakura's eyes slowly widened when the shriek changed its pitch, slowly turning manly, causing her jaw to drop when she recognized that voice as well. Without hesitating, Sakura charged towards the door, closing her eyes as she prepared for the impact.

She lunged forwards, hoping to hit the hard, wooden surface which was seemingly inches away from her body.

A second later, she fell on the floor with a loud thud.

Sakura's eyes snapped open instantly and she rebounded into standing, her sapphire irises shaking when she realized she was in the middle of a tremendous lobby. The lobby's floor was made of stone and its walls were consisted from countless pipes. She could hear the echoing noise of the water which were streaming inside the pipes, boring their way into her mind.

'_**W-What is this place?!' **_Sakura thought mentally, trembling slightly, her expression hardened and suspicious. She looked all over, moving her head around, searching for everything that may provide her with the information she needed.

More than that, she was searching for her friends- for Naruto, Sasuke and Kakashi.

Sakura's eyes then widened in disbelief, suddenly spotting something infront of her. She didn't even bother to think how she hasn't noticed it before as she put both of her hands on her mouth, gasping. She stepped backwards as far as she could from the horrible scenery infront of her, her pupils shaking viciously. _**'N-No…' **_She thought, tears streaming down her, unable to believe her eyes.

Right infront of her were three stone-made crosses, their size massive, embed to the ground. The crosses shackled down those she was searching for all along, the closest people to her- Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke. They were all hanged on the crosses, countless of holes in their bodies, dried blood markings leaking down the holes. The three were unconscious, lifeless, as corpses.

There were pools of blood beneath each one of them, the color of the blood glowing against Sakura's eyes as she dropped to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. An endless, echoing shriek erupted from her lungs, terror filling her soul and mind as she collapsed, crying heavily, unable to take the sight infront of her. **"MAKE IT STOP!" **She roared as loudly as she could, closing her eyes and burying her head in the floor, snarling in devastation. **"LEAVE ME ALONE!"**

And so time passed, and Sakura could no longer count the time she spent crying. She didn't even want to open her eyes to witness the same sight again, wanting to dearly hold onto the last bits of sanity she had remaining. At some point, Sakura could hear the sound of her wails changing, as if she was slowly growing farther away.

She hesitatingly opened her eyes, only to widen them in complete disbelief, her jaw dropping when she realized she was hanged on one of the same stoned crosses. She instantly looked to her sides, only to perk up when she noticed Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke disappeared.

The only soul in the lobby was her…and the crying Sakura who was crumbled infront of her. Sakura's eyes remained widened as she stared at her crumbled, devastated version, kneeling on the ground, wailing, sobbing.

And in an instant, that sobbing ceased, and the crumbled, devastated Kunoichi remained silent, only to slowly try and stand up a few seconds later. As the crumbled Sakura slowly rose, so did the shackled Sakura's head and eyes with her, disbelieved as the other Sakura took a firm stance, wobbling a little, trembling.

Her head was lowered, her pink hair covering her face, tears no longer escaping from her eyes. Eventually, her trembles ceased, the once-devastated Sakura slowly raising her head upwards, inch by inch.

The other Sakura's eyes widened completely, gasping as her jaw dropped in pure shock and disbelief. Her heart nearly exploded in her chest when the other Sakura revealed her face instantly, her hair fluttering to the sides as she glared deeply at her, her eyes completely widened.

And the real Sakura could no longer hold down herself, seeing that she was now gazing deeply into the terrorizing, murderous Rinnegan which belonged to Pain.

"**Trash…" **The other "Sakura" spoke, her voice bearing Pain's tone. Her hair slowly turned orange, her skin cracking and pilling off crack after crack, peach-colored skin crumbling to reveal lifeless, grey skin. The pink, shoulder-length hair soon turned orange and spiky, and her face, which bore resemblance to Sakura's face, were now Pain's.

And before she knew it, Sakura was staring at the leader of the Akatsuki, who was dressed in his Akatsuki cloak. The world, which finally began to receive colors from Sakura's eyes, again faded into a black void with white outlines, the only thing that remained colored being the purple, glowing tint of Pain's eyes.

And as she was digesting and putting together the puzzle pieces to reveal the truth behind one of the most horrible traumas in her life, Sakura could only gaze at Pain, who raised his arm upwards to extend a chakra blade from his sleeve and grab it in his hand. The red tint of the blade shimmered as the Rinnegan wielder tilted it the slightest bit, waiting a few seconds before lowering his hand back to his side, the blade following along, piercing the air against it.

"**You…bastard…" **Sakura muttered, tears of anger and shame rolling down her cheeks, realizing that all of this was just a game Pain created to play with her mind, to torture her. How foolish she was not to know that he was behind all of this, how she gave him the pleasure of seeing her cry, these were the thoughts which brought forwards a devastated snarl from the Kunoichi as she lowered her head to avoid Pain's emotionless eyes.

Her subconscious and mind were now too damage to take anything into consideration, and in this slightest moment, the finally Kunoichi managed to realize that she was under a Genjutsu this entire time. **"It felt…so real…you son of a bitch…" **Sakura swore, her voice weak, exhausted, shattered. She then suddenly swung her head upwards and glared deeply into Pain's eyes, her enraged snarl inches away from his face. **"LET ME GO!"**

She searched for any kind of retaliation, any kind of reaction in Pain's emotionless, cold gaze that would let her know he acknowledged her anger. However, Pain's expression hadn't flattered the slightest, causing the miniature remains of Sakura's courage to sink into herself. **"Letting you go…as if nothing happened…" **Pain suddenly muttered coldly, breaking the long, eternal silence which followed Sakura's outburst. He stretched his arm forwards, holding the chakra blade which was attached to his inner-forelimb firmly. Its sharp tip prodded against Sakura's abdomen, cutting and bruising her flesh, causing the Kunoichi to close her eyes shut and wince in pain. **"I do not think I can allow that…"**

And so Sakura screamed on top of her lungs, every single muscle in her body tensing up, pain tearing her body apart as the Rinnegan wielder tore through her flesh and impaled the chakra blade into her abdomen ever so slowly. Blood gushed out of her insides, staining her pitch-black clothes and the chakra blade itself as it dripped down the metallic weapon. It spilled all over the floor, drop after drop, creating a small pool of blood in the matter of seconds.

Pain moved his hand backwards and folded his wrists upwards, breaking the attachment of the chakra blade to his forelimb with his palm. He gazed at Sakura, watching her body trembled as she sobbed and panted, her head lowered completely and her muscles tensed.

It was only a matter of seconds before Sakura gasped in disbelief and lifted her head upwards instantly, gazing at her abdomen in shock. The chakra blade which was impaled into her body was nothing more than thin air now, and so was the injury caused from it. Even the pain she was feeling just completely disappeared as if the only sign of what happened a while ago was just the horrible trauma which was caused by the pain. Sakura's expression then turned enraged, knowing exactly what Pain was doing despite the fact that she had already lost her sanity. **"YOU THINK YOU CAN WIN?!" **Sakura roared, her completely widened eyes trying to gauge back the Rinnegan wielder who was quietly standing infront of her. All she could do is watch as Pain extended another chakra blade from his sleeve in the same way he did before, causing the fear to crawl up in her. **"YOU THINK YOU CAN CRACK ME?!"**

"**Cracking you? This…is not what I am planning to do…" **Pain noted emotionlessly, prodding the chakra blade against Sakura's abdomen once again. Sakura's eyes widened at the feeling, causing her to recall the unimaginable pain she felt a second earlier, her mind going berserk. **"Getting cracked by this Genjutsu…should be the least of your concerns."**

Sakura's jaw slowly dropped, her heart slowing down in her chest as her gut clenched, horrified by Pain's words. **"I will make you beg for mercy…I will make you scream…I will make you bleed…" **Pain muttered coldly, his voice coming out in the form of unforgiving deadpan as he slowly slid the chakra blade into Sakura's abdomen, triggering a worse reaction than the one she had. Sakura's eyes completely widened and her jaw dropped as she released constant shrieks of pain, unable to take anymore already. **"I will bring pain upon you…I will torture your body…I will decimate your soul…I will shatter every solid fragment of your mind. I will…make you…pay…"**

And as his words echoed through Sakura's ears, Pain again broke the chakra blade's attachment to his forelimb with his palm, gazing at the hypertilating, crying Sakura. Her body collapsed against the stoned cross, her eyes completely widened, watching her blood spill into a pool on the floor once again.

And before Sakura knew it, the pain was gone, and it seemed as if she hadn't lost her sanity a split second ago. And there Pain was, again sliding the chakra blade into her abdomen, as if they were going through a constant loop in time and space. Sakura was again screaming her heart out, feeling the same pain piercing through her body. **"I will make every single second…every single minute…every single hour…every single day…every single week…every single month…and every single year count. My body is…trembling from the thoughts of what I am…going to do to you…" **Pain muttered emotionlessly while he was sliding the chakra blade into the poor Kunoichi, her blood once again creating a pool beneath the stoned cross. **"I will redefine and entrust a new meaning to the word "pain" upon you, trash…and I am going to enjoy every…last…bit of it."**

And again, in a second, the pain Sakura was feeling just disappeared altogether and the wound in her abdomen, together with the chakra blade which was impaled into her body, again, weren't there. It was as if what Pain did never actually occurred.

"**I will make you feel…I will make you feel the same pain that you have brought upon my Angel…over and over again…"**

And with that, Pain ceased to talk as he again pierced Sakura's flesh, sliding another chakra blade into her abdomen. And again, the loop occurred and it was as if nothing happened, only for it to happen again.

And so this eternal torture had been performed on the Kunoichi for as long as she managed to remember. If she counted the time correctly, it was over a _day _up until now. Pain continued shattering every single fragment of Sakura's sanity, but as the loop occurred, Sakura's sanity returned to normal only to be shattered again.

The black void with white outlines continued seething its way into her soul, the color of Pain's eyes and her blood emphasizing themselves in her mind. The pain that she was already too-familiar with continued soothing its way through her body every single time, and the cold, emotionless Rinnegan continued carving itself into her being.

Sakura felt like time stood by, she had lost the feeling of her body already. Only the pain seething and searing through her cells, terrorizing her body in strange cycles of time was the feeling she could recognize at that point.

However, it seems as if she managed to pass a day without cracking up, an achievement she never thought she would attain. With the pain disappearing every single time, Sakura had no problem to expect how it will feel as the loop realized itself. She managed to regain her sanity every single time, so if she's still completely fine after a day…then mayb-

"**One second passed…"**

The dead silence of the black void was filling up Sakura's ears, the Kunoichi unable to believe her ears at Pain's words. His claim sent tremors down her heart and she could feel it nearly coming out of her chest. Maybe she wasn't as sane as she thought- she was beginning to hear things.

Sakura barely managed to raise her head and gaze at the blurred image of Pain, who was still standing infront of her with that same, emotionless expression plastered on his face. She gasped weakly, her jaw dropping in complete this belief, seeing that right next to Pain was standing…another Pain?!

"**Seven years…three hundred and sixty four days…twenty three hours…fifty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds…remain…"**

And with Pain's words tearing apart the remains of what was left from the insane Kunoichi, that too-familiar pain, which was doubled from this point on throughout every single loop, continued chorusing apart her body.

And among the black void and white outlines coloring the industrial village, shrieks could be heard erupting, one after another, one stronger than the other as the eternal torture continued. And in that pitch-black void, where a single day in the true world counted for as a second in this nightmare, the Kunoichi realized that…

She was going to beg for mercy at some point.

* * *

Sakura's shrieks and terrorized screams tore apart Konohagakure's forest, echoing through the Eight Man Squad's ears and the clearing.

Jiraiya's eyes widened in horror and disbelief at the image of Pain chocking down a defeated, devastated Sakura who just kept shrieking and screaming unconsciously. Her screams were getting distorted as seconds passed, mentioning that Sakura's vocal cords were already tearing themselves apart.

Pain smirked for the briefest moment, his smirk so distinctive and dark, satisfied and maniacal, that for a second there Jiraiya failed to recognize his apprentice. The Rinnegan wielder could feel anger and satisfaction filling his soul, fueling themselves on Sakura's screams, on her pain.

In a single second he managed to put the Kunoichi through an eternity of pleasuring torture, in a single second he managed to make her pay, to make her cry, to make her bleed and to make her beg for his mercy. He completely destroyed her mentality and her subconscious, tore apart her soul with every mean of the word.

Sakura continued screaming constantly up until her vocal cords couldn't take it anymore, and as her voice slowly faded away, the Rinnegan wielder found a void growing up in his heart. There was no chance in the world he would allow her to stop screaming.

Even though her body was plunged into a traumatic coma, Pain tightened his clutch around Sakura's throat, his expression hardening. The Kunoichi didn't scream, she didn't show any reaction to his clutch, aside from the blood which was now leaking down her mouth by his inhuman strength.

Just at that moment, the too-familiar scene of Sakura knee-kicking Konan in her wound flashed through Pain's mind, and soon after her screams echoed through his ears. His Angel screamed in pain and cried by Sakura's hand. However, here the Kunoichi was, silent as a corpse, not making a single sound to show she was suffering the slightest…

Before Pain knew it, he had an enraged snarl plastered on his face.

He let go of Sakura's throat, allowing her body to slowly bend forwards and start falling towards the ground of the clearing, everything going in slow motion for him.

"SCREAM!"

And a second later, Pain sent out three, enraged punches into Sakura's abdomen, her body bending forwards with each impact, his strength almost tearing her body apart. She unconsciously coughed up blood, however, that wasn't what Pain wanted.

The Rinnegan wielder roared uncontrollably, swinging his upper body backwards and stretching his right arm into the same direction, a second before he took the full momentum of his second swing to thrust his arm forwards with rage, his fist colliding with Sakura's face.

The impact sent a shockwave through the clearing, powerful gusts of winds whirling away from the strength of Pain's fist. He could slowly see as Sakura was sent away with such brute force she was actually tearing the air in her way, her flight racing towards the outskirts of the clearing, out of his sight.

Before Sakura managed to collide with the woods, Pain had already knee-kicked her lower back from behind, his ears chiming with the loud cracking which was heard together with the shockwave that came afterwards.

Sakura's body bended backwards completely, her backbone completely crushed by Pain's knee, her torso facing towards Pain. The Rinnegan wielder lowered his knee back in the moment of impact, only to hammer-punch Sakura's chest with both of his hands.

The inhuman impact crushed Sakura's ribs, her body colliding with the ground from the sheer momentum, shattering it completely. The impact of Pain's powerful sent Sakura's body bouncing upwards, giving the Rinnegan wielder enough room to swiftly lift his right leg upwards and axe-kick her abdomen back into the ground, shattering it even further.

Pain swiftly kneeled towards the ground, thrusting his arm downwards towards Sakura's body to send a direct, powerful blow into her abdomen. The earth ruins which were surrounding the Kunoichi were now slightly cratered from Pain's blow, his fist sinking into her body to the point Sakura's stomach was squeezed down.

Pain then stopped, slightly panting, his enraged expression glued to his face as he glared at Sakura, just resting on the ground, unconscious, dying. She wasn't screaming…he couldn't make her scream once again…he couldn't delight on her suffering voice to knew he made her pay. The Eternal Tsukuyomi wasn't enough for him! But the Rinnegan wielder concluded that he should prolong the fight no further.

Pain was getting exhausted, his sight slightly blurred as he lowered his head, his Rinnegan gazing at Sakura's unconscious expression. Soft winds caressed the grass around the Rinnegan wielder as his feet hovered above the ground, Pain's body ascending into the air seconds later.

He was going to finish her miserable life. It was a shame he couldn't make her suffer more than he did, as she had already did, but he will have the memories of hearing her scream for years, memories which he will delight on for the rest of his life.

Pain's expression turned emotionless as he folded his right forelimb upwards and opened his palm, gazing at it calmly. "This is the end for you…" He muttered under his breath, looking down from above at the dying Sakura, who had yet to pay for her sins.

A strange, wobbling, screeching sound echoed through the clearing as the air around Pain's hand began rotating slowly, concentrating and gathering in his palm as it took the form of a transparent orb at the size of a Rasengan.

The Heavenly Protection Seal began screeching as well, as if it was reacting to the strange technique Pain was performing by glowing stronger and stronger. The transparent orb, in return, screeched louder and louder as it rotated in inhuman pace, compressing itself and shrinking. At this point, Pain's palm was shaking slightly in reaction to his technique, unable to restrain the powerful orb. _'You made my innocent Angel suffer…you brought pain upon her and forced her into battle…smiled and laughed as she bled…It's…unforgiveable…' _Pain thought, closing his eyes as the images of Konan flashed through his mind again, his resolves resurfacing once more. He found himself sinking into his thoughts of Konan, remembering how she smiled back when that clearing was just peaceful scenery, one of the only places which were called "beautiful" by his Angel. _'Monsters like you…I will…kill…monsters like…you…'_

His last thoughts clouding up his mind, Pain's eyes shot open, his expression turning into an enraged snarl once again as he descended downwards towards Sakura with amazing speed, tearing apart the air and sending an aerial shockwave of winds trailing off behind him as he aimed his Shinra Tensei Sphere at Sakura.

"DIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

* * *

Tsunade's juked upwards as a she felt the floor beneath her legs shaking, a shake which soon developed into a powerful magnitude which tore through her office, causing her heart to jump in her chest as she widened her eyes. The sound of a powerful, gigantic explosion could be heard all over Konohagakure, causing Tsunade to shoot up into standing from her chair, not minding she broke her porcelain, green tea glass and soaked her paperwork she was working on all day with tea.

She was infront of her office's window a second later, a window which overlooked the entire village and a small part of the forest, wanting to see what was the source of this event.

Her eyes only widened in horror and disbelief, a shocked expression carving itself on her face as she gazed at the enormous earth cloud which scattered all over the skies of the forest, engulfing a large portion of it as well…the explosion came from the direction of the clearing Pain and Konan were sent towards by her.

Her gut began clenching, and soon enough a panic could be seen visible on her face. _'N-No! It had to come from there?!' _Tsunade exclaimed mentally, knowing that with her horrible luck- Pain and Konan are bound to be the reason of the explosion. She put both of her hands on the window, disbelieved.

"T-Tsunade-sama!"

Tsunade's head perked and she looked over her shoulder, seeing her niece and one of her most loyal assistants, Shizune, panting at the double-door leading into her office. Her eyes were closed as if she just did two laps all over the village, her expression was panicked as much as the Hokage's expression was.

"Shizune, gather the emergency treatment medical crew and head towards Pain's and Konan's meeting point with Jiraiya!" Tsunade promptly ordered, thankful for Shizune's arrival, knowing that she was about to inform her about the explosion and ask her for its source.

Shizune's eyes widened and she straightened herself up, her expression shocked at Tsunade's order. However, it didn't took long for her to frown and nod seriously, knowing that she should follow her Hokage with no question or hesitation, knowing that if Pain and Konan are the cause of the explosion, they can't waste any time.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

And in a second later Shizune left off, her steps echoing through the Hokage Residence as she headed towards Konoha's hospital, panicking. Tsunade was left in her office to open up the large window behind her desk with both of her hands, doing so swiftly. She then jumped through it, snarling.

The Hokage landed on one of the rooftops down at the village, ignoring the villagers' calls and shocked expression as she began charging through rooftop and rooftop, a panicking expression on her face. _'Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!' _She thought in rage, her eyes locked with the gigantic earth cloud hovering over the forest, something that caught many of the villagers' attentions. _'What if Pain and Konan were caught up in this explosion!? What if they're somehow involved in this!? I have to get there fast!'_

* * *

Amidst the earth cloud which was covering the entire clearing, Jiraiya could be seen, bent over, his eyes closed and his expression snarling. He was lucky to pick Konan and flee to safety before Pain's attack collided with the surface of the forest, and considered himself even more lucky as he lifted up his upper body to reveal a safe, unconscious Konan. He knew Pain was at an outrage, and wanted to stop it before being too late with every fiber of his being, but protecting Konan now was top priority.

If Pain realizes that he somehow hurt Konan while he was in rage…who knows how he will deal with it in his current, emotionally unstable condition. _'I need to start speeding up the healing process…' _Jiraiya thought, his expression turning serious as he resumed treating Konan's wound, a glimmer of relief and satisfaction in his eyes when he saw that it was slowly closing down.

He then raised his head upwards, looking at the endless cloud of dust which engulfed him and the entire clearing, narrowing his eyes as it faded down, only to widen them back in disbelief.

The clearing, as gigantic as it has become, was now mostly an enormous crater which was a result of Pain's attack. The trees which were previously surrounding were now nothing more than one, big wooden wreckage.

And in the middle of that gigantic crater was the kneeling Rinnegan wielder, his face emotionless, though bearing slight frustration and disappointment. He gazed at his forelimb, which was now embed deeply into the rocky ground as if it was a part of it. He found the lack of Sakura's blood all over it or the remains of her body scattered all over disturbing, however, Pain was smart enough to know what the possibilities for her disappearances were.

'_Pathetic…' _He thought in frustration, effortlessly pulling out his forelimb from the ground as if it was just water, splashing rocks all around him as he clenched and opened his hand a few times, his expression blank, deep.

Pain attempted to stand up, suddenly using both of his arms to support his body as he lifted it upwards, feeling the world around him spinning. He was losing his balance, his body dazzling to the sides, his sight blurred more than it already was. He was getting weaker…exhausted…he wasn't in his best shape since the battle with that cursed Madara, and if that wasn't enough, every single second he's fighting with that Heavenly Protection Seal is another second for him to feel his body squeezed out of chakra.

The Heavenly Protection Seal was not formed on the original Nagato, but instead was formed on Pain. In other words, while Pain's chakra-consumption was increased massively, Nagato's chakra production remained the same, so he had to stream up massive amounts of chakra just to keep Pain standing up.

That was going to be a problem that he will have to solve.

And so Pain finally managed to regain his balance, the entire crater which was rotating around him finally coming into a stop. He didn't even need to look around him for Sakura's whereabouts; the Rinnegan wielder just raised his head upwards, his eyes hardening coldly.

The sun, which was directly above him, was blinding out two figures who were standing at the outskirts of the crater, looking down at him from above. However, Pain had no difficulty in recognizing at least one of them, the realization shocking him slightly.

"Hatake Kakashi…" He muttered lowly, his Rinnegan glaring down at Kakashi's exposed Mangekyo Sharingan, seeing that the Jonin wasn't hurt the slightest bit, no blood leaking down from the imaginary wound which was supposed to be spread across his chest.

The picture of the explosion that his Heavenly Protection Seal created once activated flashed through Pain's mind, noting how it covered up the entire clearing. _'I see…' _The Rinnegan wielder thought, dwelling in the scene of Kakashi slowly dying amidst the wooden remains of a tree's bole, a vertical, gashing cut tearing through his chest.

Pain's eyes hardened into a glare, and so did Kakashi's. It was only then when the Rinnegan slowly drifted downwards, seeing that in the Copy Ninja's arms was a dying, devastated Sakura. As bad as his condition seemed, she was still alive…still alive.

The Copy Ninja turned his eyes from Pain to Sakura, gazing deeply at her, his eyes showing great sadness and concern at the condition of his apprentice. _'Sakura…I'm sorry…' _He thought in despair, closing his eyes before he swiftly dashed to a part of the wooden ruins around the clearing and rested Sakura against them.

"Kakashi-dono!" Yamato yelled angrily, great concern in his voice, causing Kakashi to look over his shoulder instantly, seeing the ANBU forming countless of hand seals. In barely a second, Kakashi was at his side, his heart pumping into his chest at the sight of the Rinnegan wielder slowly making his way towards them, effortlessly walking up on the crater's curved sides as if he was manipulating gravity.

Yamato then rammed both of his hands together, causing a small shockwave to rock through the clearing as countless of horizontal, wooden pillars erupted from the crater's outskirts and charged towards each other. Pain could only watch as they joined together above him, forming a formidable wooden surface for the clearing, and for the Rinnegan wielder- a wooden ceiling.

The two Konohagakure Jonin barely got the time to blink, and another shockwave tore apart the clearing, causing them to widen their eyes at the sight of a large hole gauged up through the wooden pillars. Pain was in midair already, glaring down at both of them, their shocked eyes meeting with his cold ones, amazed at his speed. _'A Wood Release technique…' _Pain thought emotionlessly, focusing his glare on Yamato. _'Harishama Senju's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai shouldn't have been passed down to a casual Konohagakure Shinobi…It seems that your sick experiment succeeded after all…Orochimaru.'_

Pain landed directly against the wooden surface, his body taking a kneeling position, shattering the wooden pillars completely with the strength of the impact. His eyes were locked with Kakashi's and Yamato's, the Rinnegan eying them taking their offensive stances, ready to battle.

The Akatsuki leader calmly stood up, not rushing a single bit. He didn't even bother to take his own fighting stance, not wanting any more blood to be splashed at this clearing, a place his Angel loved, which was now nothing but a devastated battlefield because of those Konohagakure Shinobi. "Out of my way…Hatake Kakashi," Pain deadpanned emotionlessly, hissing down Kakashi's and Yamato's souls, causing their bodies to literally go numb with adrenaline. Deep within himself, even though he was now too clouded with hatred and anger to admit and accept it, Nagato was still holding some kind of faith in the village that saved his Angel.

However, that faith was now nothing more than a scar of the past.

"My business is not with you…all I want is that trash…"

Kakashi's eyes hardened into a heavy glare, his mouth snarling beneath his mask as he formed two, roaring Raikiri in his palms. Those Raikiri were much stronger than the previous ones, and sent waves of lighting all around the clearing, intimidating Yamato's stance into a defensive one. His Mangekyo Sharingan glowed slightly, emotions of hatred and anger which were long since forgotten in the corner of his mind surfacing once again. "If you want to touch a hair of that "trash's" head, you'll have to pass my dead body first!" Kakashi yelled angrily, his eyes filled with rage he has never shown before. Pain, however, didn't flutter the slightest bit by Kakashi's strength, even not when the lightning surges of the Raikiri began roaming through the clearing. Kakashi dwelled on the thoughts about Rin and Obito, how his emotionlessness and lack of consideration caused both of them to die at the end…

He wasn't going to let Sakura be the third.

"There is no way I am going to let you live…You will pay for what you've done!"

Pain perked up, seeing that a second later, Kakashi was already inches away from him, their agility almost matching. Before Pain knew it, he was swiftly dodging Kakashi's furious, agile arm-swings, the two stepping all over the clearing, locked in a close combat.

'_I'm fortunate to be able to follow his movements with my Mangekyo Sharingan…he seems weaker than before.' _Kakashi thought calmly as he continued swinging both of his roaring Raikiri at Pain, not letting him any opening for a counter-attack. Even though the Copy Ninja was enraged, Kakashi knew better than letting those emotions affect his calm thoughts, his sense of judgment and his tactical plans.

Pain was actually showing effort this time, noting how significantly stronger the original Kakashi was than the clone. However, the emotionless Rinnegan still didn't wither or tremble, not even challenged by the Jonin's speed, able to predict and foresee every single movement Kakashi made, and would make in the following seconds.

'_He's slowing down!' _Kakashi thought, noting how he was slowly gaining the upper hand on the Rinnegan wielder, who was slowly putting more and more efforts into his dodges. Wanting to further pressurize onto him, Kakashi only doubled his speed, forcing Pain to double his.

The two were now basically a single, black-green blur roaming all over the clearing, even though it was far from being like it. Kakashi's eyes snapped when the lightning of his Raikiri actually managed to _touch _the Rinnegan wielder's cloak, causing his eyes to harden.

It was then when Kakashi thrust his left Raikiri towards Pain's face, going for a final strike.

And the troubled, concerned expression of the Akatsuki leader returned to its emotionless form in a blink of an eye.

Kakashi's eyes slowly widened, everything going in slow motion for him thanks to the ability of his Rinnegan, finally noticing that Pain was no longer infront of him. _'W-Wha-' _ Kakashi began thinking, but got no time to finish his thoughts as a brutal splash of blood erupted from his chest vertically, forcing his eyes to widen even more.

His two Raikiri slowly died down, shock and surprise overflowing the Copy Ninja when he finally managed to realize that Pain was calmly standing behind him, a feet away, their backs turned towards each other. A chakra blade was extended from the right sleeve of his Akatsuki cloak, his right hand holding onto it. The tip of the chakra blade was covered up with Kakashi's blood.

And before Kakashi knew it, he was falling towards the ground, pain pulsing through his body until his systems were numbed down. He attempted to taking a few steps forwards, wanting to gain as much distance from the Rinnegan wielder as he could. _'H-He was just…playing with me…' _The Jonin shockingly concluded, suddenly recalling the exchange they both had. Even though Pain was constantly moving his body around, looking troubled and concerned…his feet were barely walking through the clearing, showing no effort whatsoever. _'Damn…it…'_

The Jonin then hit the ground with a loud thud, feeling his blood leaking into the grass, his sight blurred down, the sound of Pain's footsteps echoing through his ears. All he could see was Pain's shadow engulfing him, probably thinking the Rinnegan wielder was glaring at him from above. He could see the shadow of his right hand breaking the attachment of the chakra blade to his sleeve, holding it firmly, intending to deliver the final blow which would put him out of his misery.

And in the next second, Kakashi's eyes widened, seeing that Pain's shadow was struck by Yamato's shadow, who literally flew towards him, his right arm replaced by a few, short wooden pillars glued together to form a large, wooden hard weapon.

The wooden pillars collided with the side of Pain's body viciously, the sound of a brutal crack echoing through the clearing as the Rinnegan wielder's eyes snapped open. Yamato's eyes hardened, realizing what that cracking sound meant as Pain's body looked like it was going to be sent away any second now.

His hopes were in vain, however, as Yamato's expression was filled with complete shock, his wooden pillars shattering right infront of him, clarifying the source of the cracked sound. Pain took four steps to the opposite direction, trying to rebalance himself, confused at how he failed to notice Yamato coming.

Yamato's expression hardened into a snarl as he rammed both of his hands together before slamming them against the ground, causing Pain to perk up as a gigantic tree erupted out of the ground right beneath his legs, consisted out of countless, sharp wooden pillars.

With great speed, Pain was already at the other side of the clearing, the tall, thick tree separating him from Yamato and Kakashi.

Pain's off-guarded expression instantly went back to its original form, the Rinnegan wielder processing the new situation as countless of wooden, sharp branches were fired towards him from the tree's bole, piercing the air in their way.

Pain's eyes narrowed, blank as he began stepping all over, causing Yamato's jaw to drop as the Akatsuki leader closed his eyes, his body moving and rotating as he literally _slid _between the branches, dodging the endless volley with little effort.

The Rinnegan wielder could feel time passing by, his chakra slowly draining down, causing his expression to harden. _'If this keeps up…' _He thought, feeling the wooden branches slightly brushing against his cloak, rupturing it slightly.

Yamato's eyes hardened, realizing that Pain had no difficulty dodging his technique, causing him to charge forwards and slam his right palm against the back of the tree's bole, causing a slight shockwave through the clearing.

And from the other side of the bole, many thick, sharp wooden pillars emerged, charging towards the Rinnegan wielder with incredible speed, causing a small smile to tug Yamato's lips, seeing that Pain was too distracted and busy dodging the volleys of branches which charged towards him.

Pain's expression turned into a glare, the Rinnegan wielder suddenly snapping his enraged eyes a second later, a hardened, determining Rinnegan glaring towards the tree, and Yamato, who was behind it.

"ENOUGH!"

And in a second later, unimaginable force erupted away from the Rinnegan wielder towards the wooden branches, sending vicious shockwaves rocking through the clearing and shattering everything in its path, scattering a trail of dust behind it.

It stroke down the wooden pillars with inhuman force, plunging them into themselves and tearing them apart into heavy, thick wooden pieces. Yamato's eyes slowly widened, seeing the invisible wrecking ball of air charging towards him.

Pain's Shinra Tensei viciously collided with the gigantic tree, cracking and breaking it apart as it sent another tremor through the clearing, only dropping Yamato's jaw as, within a second, it collided with his own body as well, causing him to cough up blood, feeling his bones and insides being squeezed down until they nearly exploded.

The barricade still charged forwards, carrying Yamato in the turmoil as it continued towards Kakashi and the outskirts of the clearing, tearing everything in its path, sending gusts, shockwaves and tremors in its wake.

And a second later, a massive trail of earth and wood dust was covering the pathetic, two miles infront of Pain. The gigantic earth mist reduced the sight to zero percent, Pain just standing in the middle of it, calm, waiting.

…not to mention the two miles ahead of Pain which were now basically engulfed in a cloud of earth dust, brewing through the forest.

The Rinnegan's wielder eyes traveled to the right, locking his Rinnegan with Sakura, who was slowly dying against an unharmed tree's bole, the earth cloud brushing against the side of her body.

The clearing wasn't entirely destroyed by Pain's technique, he made sure it wouldn't hit Sakura and will only extend towards one direction to prevent Jiraiya and the unconscious Konan, who were behind him, from getting hurt.

For Sakura…he had other motives.

Pain turned his body towards Sakura as he began to slowly walk towards her, his steps calm, paced, echoing through the clearing as a soft breeze went by. Seconds passed, and the Rinnegan wielder was then standing infront of Sakura, looking down at her dying form, following the distorted way her stomach expanded and shrunk, struggling for air.

Without saying a word, he extended his right arm forwards and grabbed the collar of Sakura's shirt, slowly raising her body upwards until her feet were above the ground. He could see the blood from her mouth and arms dripping to the ground, his emotionless expression showing slight satisfaction.

He could only harden his eyes as a chakra blade was extended from his left sleeve, the metallic sound chiming to his ears, knowing that every time he's going to hear it from now on, it will symbolize the pain he's about to bring upon someone who hurt his Angel.

"Your life has been prolonged for too long…" The Rinnegan wielder muttered emotionlessly under his lips, his left hand grabbing the chakra blade and tilting it slightly, exposing its red, bloody tint. He folded his left forelimb and aimed the tip of his chakra blade against Sakura's throat, the blade weakly prodding against her neck. "Trash…if you die, you will no longer be able to hurt my Angel…and she will again smile peacefully and be secur-"

Pain suddenly perked up, his eyes snapping in surprise when, before he knew it, the atmosphere around him began rippling, blurring down his sight. He could feel the air compressing around him, squeezing down his body, causing the Rinnegan wielder to look over his shoulder, shock covering his face as his widened Rinnegan Kakashi's figure, which was rested against the remains of the clearing's north outskirts. He was panting viciously, his body filled with gashes of blood and his Mangekyo Sharingan fully widened, glaring down at Pain's figure.

'_I see…' _The Rinnegan wielder thought, the air around him distorting and disrupting as it began collapsing into itself, taking along Pain's body with it.

Both of Kakashi's eyes suddenly widened as he began coughing up blood, feeling his body steaming out. His heart began squeezing down, causing the Copy Ninja to viciously grab his throat and choke down, blood leaking from his right eye. _'Damn it…damn it!' _He fumed, feeling his body being crushed by invisible force. _'Using Kamui…on an entire human body…with such…massive chakra…I'm dying…this is over for me…'_

Kakashi could feel his mind flashing back to the moment of his childhood, recalling all he had been through with Obito and Rin…right before the two of them died.

'_Rin…Obito…' _Kakashi thought, his body going numb as he recalled the confrontation he had with a masked anonymous figure at the clearing in which he was forced to kill Rin. He could feel the world around him spinning, remembering the phrase Obito spoke to him.

"_Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!"_

Kakashi chuckled to himself, thinking about Obito's careless personality. _'Obito…I'm sorry…please forgive me…' _He concluded, feeling the world around him going black. _'I'm sorry for…abandoning Rin…I had no choice but…I redeemed myself…haven't I? I saved my student from that ba-' _

"Kamui…the uncompleted form of Madara Uchiha's Time Migration Technique…I am impressed that a man who does not possess the blood of an Uchiha is able to use such a powerful technique…"

Kakashi's eyes fully widened themselves in horror, the too-familiar voice tearing apart his ears, causing his heart to skip beats. He could see the shadow of a figure covering up his body, only to look upwards over his shoulder, his widened, disbelieved eyes locking themselves with Pain's Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan wielder was standing on top of the remains of a tree's bole on which Kakashi's body was resting, looking down at him emotionlessly, unscratched. "I-Impossible…" Kakashi muttered, his voice trembling with shock and weakness. He felt his Mangekyo Sharingan tremble upon gazing deeply into Pain's strange eyes, which were slightly glowing. "Y…you countered…my Kamui?"

"No, I simply nullified it." Pain answered calmly, the chakra blade which was destined to end Sakura's existence still being held in his hand. However, it seems as if this chakra blade was gifted with a new purpose. His voice was reasonable, merciful, willing to explain the shocked Copy Ninja why he was unable to kill him.

"H-How were you able to…"

"My Rinnegan is the source of every single technique known to the Shinobi world, the eyes of the Kami of all Shinobi- the Sage of the Six Paths. It holds the secrets of the ninjutsu art, it is the forefather of chakra. The Sharingan is nothing but an incomplete, weak mutation of it- it is nothing but an empty void, it pales in comparison to the Rinnegan. My eyes are stronger than yours…my resolve is stronger than yours…and that is why your Sharingan was unable to face my Rinnegan…the eyes of the Sage of the Six Paths…"

Soft breezes brew through the clearing, which was silent for a few minutes, Kakashi trying to digest Pain's sayings. "The…Rinnegan…the Sage of…the Six Paths…You are…lying…" Kakashi muttered hoarsely, his body exhausted, dying. He didn't bother looking at Pain any longer, knowing his end has finally come. His voice was filled with denial, with disbelief, unable to process Pain's words. "Those are just…legends…myths…they don't exist!"

"Your thoughts and beliefs are no longer relevant, Hatake Kakashi." Pain retorted, raising his right hand to the side, his chakra blade bathing in the sun, the red tint brightening with a metallic sound. "Hatake Kakashi…you have been a worthy opponent…"

Kakashi lowered his head, preparing himself for the stab as he smiled softly. He wasn't prepared for death, heck, he even knew that after Pain kills him, he'll move to Sakura and the rest of his comrades…however, he knew he could do nothing at the matter.

Better yet, he thought until his death, until his very breath ceased. He protected his students and his village with every fiber of his being, he fulfilled the promise he made to Obito and redeemed himself for his horrible doings.

He still knew that whenever he was going now, he won't be with his friends and family.

Kakashi suddenly perked up, his eyes widening when he heard a loud thud a second later, followed by the sight of Pain rolling down the wooden rubbles like a ragdoll, his eternally-emotionless expression finally replaced by a shocked, disbelieved one, his eyes completely widened.

'_No…stop…' _Pain thought in shock, his jaw dropping in disbelief as he just rested on the grass, motionless, his sight blurred. He could feel his body going numb, the world spinning around him viciously, an endless screeching sound tearing apart his ears. The glowing red lines which were scattered across his body dimmed into a black color, blood leaking down his mouth. _'No…damn it…I SAID NO! NOO! NO NO NO!'_

And with that thought, Pain managed to catch the shocked, surprised expression of his Sensei, who was staring at him with disbelief.

And before he could get a glimpse on his Angel…everything went blank for the Rinnegan wielder.

'_**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO O!'**_

* * *

Nagato's eyes shot open, widening to full extent as a vicious grunt came from the back of his throat. He snarled, his eyes almost rolling to the back of his head as blood leaked from between his teeth. He removed his right forelimb from his mechanical walker component to tightly grab his throat.

He grunted again, closing his eyes in pain before he opened his mouth and vomited a brutally big pool of blood from his mouth, splashing it over the grass. Nagato grunted again, his pupils dropping down as he panted and gasped heavily, his upper body bent forwards. _'Damn…it…DAMN IT!' _He screamed mentally, looking at the pool of blood he expelled from his body, the world spinning around him, barely able to breathe. That was one of the most powerful chakra exhaustions he ever felt, but that incident, together with the amazing pain which was tearing through his body, was the least of his concerns. _'No…the connection…with…damn…I…can't…breathe…'_

Nagato began coughing again, blood splashing out from his coughs as he bended forwards heavily, now clutching his throat with both of his hands as he closed his eyes. _'No! Damn…stop!' _He mentally screamed, feeling the chakra exhaustion draining out his essence. His body couldn't endure the immense pain, and suddenly the Rinnegan wielder was driven back to those often moments when he was going through chakra exhaustions. At those moments, Konan just rushed in to his aid with concern plastered on her face, and as much as he could recall, he just mercilessly waved her off. _'I'm…sorry…Konan…'_

He recalled her expression of desperation and disgust when he began injecting that stabilizing liquid which he made by himself, that would often numb down the pain and allow him to continue operate. He gasped and panted even more as he shoved in his left forelimb back into the mechanical walker's vacuum-like arm holder, adjusting it inside until it was in the right position. _'Please…Konan…' _Nagato thought, trying to stop himself from panting any longer as he took deep, wild breaths. The mechanical walker began making a strange sound of liquid running in through pipes, and in a second the left arm component began expanding. Nagato could feel sharp needles tearing through his flesh into his muscles, causing his expression to harden. _'Let me just…use it…one last time…for you…my Angel…'_

And so, the left arm container of the walker began squeezing out, plunging the liquid up Nagato's forelimb. The Rinnegan wielder closed his eyes, his breathes stabilizing as he felt the pain slowly being pushed away, his strength returning.

* * *

The Rinnegan snapped open, Pain's expression coming back to "life" as he could see the blurred world spinning around him once again. His head throbbed, his body sprawled on the grass of the clearing, lying on his back.

He could make out Jiraiya's expression as he glanced behind him, seeing his relieved, yet shocked expression which was locked with his tightly. Pain's eyes traveled downwards, meeting with Konan's figure.

His Angel was still resting on the grass, her expression bearing much less pain than before…almost…peaceful. The concern and tense in Pain's eyes were heavily relieved at that sight, but that was before he glared at the other direction, seeing four, blurred figures at the other side of the clearing.

The Rinnegan wielder flipped over so he was lying on his stomach, thrusting both of his hands at the ground, feeling his body heavy and hurt. His arms and shoulders were wobbling heavily as he attempted to lift himself up, doing so slowly, cautiously, feeling like his connection with the real him is slowly being broken again.

Giving one last push, Pain heavily stood up on both of his legs, his body dazzled as he began taking steps to the left and to the right, not feeling any sort of balance whatsoever. He winced, clutching his face viciously, feeling the world spinning around him even faster as his eyes trembled, glaring at the same figures infront of him.

The Akatsuki leader slowly wiped away the blood which was leaking down from his nose and mouth, noting how his sight was getting clearer and clearer until he could visibly see the shocked and disbelieved expressions of those infront of him.

He couldn't care the less about the rest of them, the only one who got the attention of Pain's eyes was Naruto. The blonde was standing in the middle of the group, his expression made up into a feral snarl, his irises red and his pupils slitted. His blonde, spiky hair was messy, showing those unique, feral traits of his Kyuubi form.

The one who was standing on Naruto's right was feral as well, his snarling expression bearing wolf-like traits, not to mention the rather large dog growling at his side. The two other figures were rather emotionless, reminding Pain of his past form. However, they seemed to put slight anger in their expressions as well.

Not far behind them were Kakashi, Yamato, and Sakura, all injured and almost dying. Next to them was a dark-blue haired girl, seemingly a Hyuga, as Pain recalled from the past wars. The girl was trying to desperately heal Sakura, as Yamato and Kakashi were conscious and alive…not to mention utterly shocked.

That was when Kakashi's weak, terrified glare locked with Pain's. _'No…how is this…possible?' _Kakashi thought, panting, his body pained and exhausted. He couldn't believe that he managed to escape death from some reason, puzzled, recalling the moment when Pain fainted in the outskirts of the clearing before putting him out of his misery. _'…He was…dead…I swear to Kami he was…dead…'_

Pain's eyes narrowed dangerously, now noting what a bad decision it was to allow the Hyuga girl to get to Naruto. To think that she would aid Naruto and start healing up her wounded allies, but however, Naruto's recovery was inevitable due to the Kyuubi's chakra.

And now…they were all facing him, willing to bring him down no matter the cost. Pain couldn't help but to close his eyes and smile, chuckling at the pathetic sight of hopeless determination and willpower. Still, he, himself, was barely able to stand up, leading him to the conclusion that he had pushed himself over his own limits. It didn't surprise him- he didn't recover any bit of chakra from himself after the battle with Madara, focusing it all on repairing the Deva Path. In addition with the Heavenly Protection Seal inhuman chakra consumption it was only logical that he'll be pushed over his own limits sooner or later.

Jiraiya's eyes saddened, gazing deeply at Pain from behind, unable to believe that he would still stand and battle despite what happened earlier. _'Nagato…' _He thought, knowing how painful it must be for him to stand up now, knowing how exhausted he already was. He thought about what Konan would say, causing him to lower his head and look at the Angel's relieved expression. He glanced downwards at her healed, closed wound, gazing at it with satisfaction, with happiness and relief. He removed his palms from Konan's abdomen, causing the glow engulfing it to slowly die down as the healing process ceased.

Naruto's red pupils managed to drift off over his shoulders, gazing at his dying friend, his dying _family_, looking at what Pain has done to both Kakashi and Sakura, looking at how they were bleeding, how they were injured…

Kakashi's condition was life-threatening, but it wasn't as urgent and crucial as Sakura's, who already had continuous blood leaking from her mouth and her nose. The blonde looked at her squeezed, broken right arm, his black slits coming in contact with the red color of her blood.

Naruto's eyes widened to full extent, feeling his body trembling with anger, bubbling sound echoing through the clearing as thick, dark-red chakra slowly caressed his body, his hands clenching into brutal fists, his snarl strengthening.

"You…" Naruto muttered, his voice broken with rage, his head lowered and his hands bleeding from his sharp fingernails, which were clenched against them. "You…fucking…MONSTEEEEEER!"

Naruto's vicious roar tore through the clearing, sending red, brutal gusts of chakra all over, causing Kiba, Shino and Sai to take a few steps backwards in surprise and shock.

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror and Yamato's eyes narrowed in disbelief, feeling the gusts of chakra burning against his body. Hinata perked up, her eyes widening and her jaw dropping as she turned to look over her shoulder, only to widen her eyes even more, her expression terrorized. She had never seen Naruto like that…

'_N-Naruto-Kun!'_

"I…I swear to Kami…" Naruto deadpanned, his voice still trembling and shaking heavily, his tone feral and enraged. "I will…I will…"

The red chakra crawling around Naruto's body was finally engulfed his body, creating a transparent-red cloak of chakra which grew its own foxy ears, filling up the atmosphere in the clearing with dark energy. Naruto's Kyuubi cloak started growing out its first tail, his mind recalling all that Akatsuki had done to him and his friends.

"I will…MAKE YOU PAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!"

Pain's expression didn't flatter at Naruto's inhuman, monstrous strength. It only burned against his cloak, fluttering it backwards. His glare hardened, his ears still stuck in Naruto's previous sentence as he clutched his hands into fists.

"You rage and anger are justified…Kyuubi…but…"

"_YOU MONSTER, WHAT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!?"_

Pain's glare slowly turned into a snarl, the Heavenly Protection Seal's black lines combing back to life, glowing brightly in the colors of red and white, raising off steams of rage.

"_YOU RUINED MY ENTIRE LIFE! I DESPISE YOU! STAY BACK!"_

"After what you've done…" Pain muttered, his voice resembling Naruto's in the way it shook with anger. Pain's snarl clashed with Naruto's, the overwhelming amount of anger and hatred flooding the clearing. Pain recalled the death of Yahiko and his parents, and even worse, the moment in which Sakura knee-kicked Konan. Those memories didn't help quelling down his rage the slightest bit. "After what you've done to me…After what you've don't to Konan…don't you bastards dare…DON'T YOU DARE…CALLING ME A MONSTER!"

Pain's snarl grew vicious as his body tensed, cracking the ground around him as his Heavenly Protection Seal screeched. Before they knew it, Naruto and the others were struck by a vicious shockwave of chakra which erupted from Pain's body, bearing a lighter red shade than Naruto's Kyuubi chakra.

Kiba, Sai, and Shino attempted to cross their forelimbs infront of their faces to defend themselves, but it was to no avail as the chakra sent them away to collide with the wooden ruins behind them, perking up Hinata before the winds reached her, Kakashi and Yamato as well.

Only Naruto wasn't moved by Pain's strength, his snarl strengthening as he bended his upper body forwards, his Kyuubi cloak synchronizing itself with the movements of his form as he took a step forwards as well. "I DON'T CARE ABOUT WHAT WE DID TO YOUR HORRIBLE LIFE! I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR FUCKING SEX SLAVE TOO!" Naruto roared back, causing Pain's eyes to tremble with rage and desire to kill as he realized that he was referring to his Angel. If Naruto's eyes weren't blinded by the Kyuubi's chakra, the blonde would've dropped to his knees. "I'M GLAD WE KILLED OFF YOUR DAMN MONSTER-"FRIENDS"! I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU TOO! THAT BITCH WILL BE NEXT! MONSTERS LIKE YOU SHOULD'NT BE ALLOWED TO LIVE!"

This was when Pain couldn't restrain back his anger…that was when he just knew he had to kill all of them, that was when he knew he had to burn down Konohagakure to ashes. If more people like the ones before him exist in that village, Konan can't be safe.

More than that…he will never forgive anyone who speaks like that about Konan.

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Pain roared back, taking his fighting stance and clenching his fists further in rage. His roar echoed through the clearing, strengthening the winds and shockwaves both he and Naruto expelled from their bodies. His mind was blurred from anger, blurred from hatred…and he loved every bit of those feelings he had towards Naruto. "I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU, KONOHA BASTARD!"

Rage overflowing his heart, Pain grabbed the collar of his fluttering Akatsuki cloak as he tossed it over his body and into the air. The removal of the cloak revealed Pain's Akatsuki outfit and his pierced body, together with the many lines extended from the Heavenly Protection Seal, bended and crossed up his arms.

Pain then spread his legs slightly, holding his feet firmly against the ground as he clapped both of his palms together. The Heavenly Protection Seal began to shine in a stronger aura, screeching viciously. "You…" He said weakly as the ground around him was slowly shattered by the immense force. "You have to die…you just…have to die…"

Blood began gushing out of Pain's mouth as he lowered his head and parted his palms from each other, revealing a pearl-sized black orb surrounded with white outlines of energy in each palm. The Rinnegan wielder sent his arms to the sides, the pearls of energy slowly expanding and growing bigger. "This will be…my last move…" Pain announced, a large amount of blood gushing out of his mouth and nose as he spoke, feeling the pain tearing apart his body as his Chibaku Tensei Spheresgrew into the size of a Rasengan. The Rinnegan wielder's feet shattered the ground he was standing on, causing his body to slightly lose balance. Pain could feel the world spinning around, but it was fine, since he knew that the only direction he needs to head is straight forward. "If…if I want Konan to be safe…if I want Konan to be happy…monsters like you…MONSTERS LIKE YOU…MUST DIE!"

A vicious snarl covering his face, Pain moved into a more fierce position, his Chibaku Tensei Spheres screeching in a horrible, waving sound. His new position caused the ground around him to turn into a massive crater, the black and white orbs sending gusts of powerful winds all around. "MY FLAMES WILL BURN DOWN YOUR PATHETIC VILLAGE! YOU HAVE…NO IDEA ABOUT THE PAIN I WILL BRING UPON YOU ALL!" Pain roared in uncontrollable rage, the blood leaking down his mouth slowly dropping on the grass. "I WILL KILL YOUR FRIENDS! I WILL KILL YOUR FAMILY! WHEN I'M DONE…THERE WON'T BE A SINGLE TRASH LIKE YOU LEFT ALIVE!"

More portions of the area around Pain began shattering as the gusts which were sent all over the clearing caused the trees to bend and the leaves to be torn away from their branches, grass hairs to fly away and trees to bend.

'_W-What power!' _Kakashi thought, his forelimbs crossed infront of his face and his eyes closed, feeling the leaves and the branches slowly covering him off. He couldn't withstand the winds as his body slowly burrowed and sank into the wooden rubbles, clearing them away.

Still snarling in rage, Naruto was able to walk forwards and drop on all-four, the Kyuubi's cloak thickening around his body, providing a protective shield and taking the silhouette of the Kyuubi. He lifted his right palm from the ground, a screeching Odama Rasengan slowly forming up from the Kyuubi's and his own chakras, sending mixed gusts of chakra all over the clearing as well. "YOU CAN FUCKING TRY!" Naruto roared back, his voice clouded by the Kyuubi's rage and hatred, prepared to charge forwards at the Rinnegan wielder if such an action is needed. "I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE THIS CLEARING ALIVE, YOU ABOMINATION!"

Saying that their powers were matching each other could be a correct assumption at such a point, but Pain's strength was amazingly overpowering Naruto's despite the fact that the Rinnegan wielder now didn't have a single drop of chakra remained- he only had his fake, sheer willpower which was created by his hatred and anger, enabling him to stand.

He could slowly feel and hear the world around him muting down, the sounds dimming and disappearing as all there was left was Nagato's heartbeats. He heard himself roaring, the most vicious roar he had ever let out, sounding like a beast…like a monster.

And that was when Pain finally realized he was no longer in control. He could feel immense chakra gathering up down his feet, causing the ground to tremble. He could feel his leg muscles tensing up and preparing for a launch so powerful that it will tear the clearing apart.

His body was prepared…Pain was prepared…

But Nagato wasn't.

'_**What am I doing…Sensei?' **_Pain thought in depression and disbelief, ready to make a dash that would break even the sound barrier. Everything was now going in slow motion, and before the Rinnegan wielder knew it, he found himself back on the bed at the highest tower of Amegakure.

Everything around him was white…pure-white, and infront of him he could see Konan standing, offering him a hand, smiling. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted to the side, the way she used to smile when she was a child.

"_**Nagato…"**_

That was the image that carved itself into Pain's mind as his focus returned back to the clearing.

"_**Believe in **_**your**_** ideals! Do what **_**you**_** want!"**_

'_My Angel…' _Pain thought, his eyes slowly widening as his jaw dropped.

"_**Promise me you will never hold grudge, resolve things peacefully."**_

"_**Don't let hatred and revenge blind you like that ever again."**_

Pain could now see time standing by, his widened eyes scouting over the clearing. He was about to charge in and destroy Naruto, he was about to burn down Konohagakure to the ground, he was about to make Sakura pay for the pain she brought upon his Angel…

He was about to fulfill his promise and make Konan safe and happy…

"_**I give you my word…"**_

But...he was about to break it at the same time…

'_My Angel…__**help me**__!'_

* * *

ANOTHER! DAMN! CLIFFHANGER! I apologize, my readers, I just couldn't resist it.

And with that ends ANPAL's **TENTH **chapter! With yet another devastating cliffhanger which will (probably) leave us all hanging for around two weeks now…maybe less, as the second part of the chapter is amazingly shorter.

Now, I vouch that **"Chapter 11- Understand Pain."** Will NOT have a cliffhanger and will conclude the battle of Pain vs The Eight Man Squad (probably sooner than expected). As I kind of decided to split the chapter apart around the end of the battle, you can expect it to end quickly.

Now, I wouldn't put any more stress at you (more than I already did)…and will see you in a few weeks from now.

**Oh, and I forgot to mention that the action will be much more dull in Chapter 11, as its title says "Understand Pain". It will mostly be a dialogue chapter, I'm saying this so you will know what to expect.**

Oh, and, due to the many positive and amazing reviews, I decided that I will decorate the **REVIEW **textbox by putting many glowing lights around it to emphasize in your screen.

Wait…you can't see them?

Look closer…

Closer…

Alright, that should be close enough. Maybe try writing in it to see what happens.


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